To get to this corner of western North Carolina, you'll need a steady hand on the wheel. Tunnels of green wind through the hills; loops and turns as tight as hairpins lead you through Transylvania County and into town.
Located in the Appalachian Mountains between Asheville and Lake Toxaway, Brevard is surrounded by crenellated creeks and Arcadian groves that have hosted summer camps for over a century. Every year, young people embark here for months of creating memories. Listen closely, and you'll hear them splashing in lakes, paddling in streams filled with birdsong and cicadas, and following the clicking of horses' hooves along wooded trails.
What to do in Brevard
Go outside
The idyllic terrain around Brevard is known as waterfall country as it is home to more than 250 of them. One of the best draws is Pisgah National Forest, which is strung with the dart and dash of ancient rivers. HAS Glass fallsa popular photo session, the mornings are busy.
Countless caravans of families park on a long gravel strip along US 276 and disembark, taking the stairs to view the 60-foot waterfall in all its tumbling majesty. Some venture all the way down, climbing along the mossy, boulder-strewn creek bed and walking carefully from stone to stone, close enough to smell the cool spray of the falls. Just above them, carved over millennia by moving water, striations of prehistoric rock tilt upwards in parallel lines like musical staves. The roar of crashing water rises with a thin layer of mist, the air visible and turning golden as the first ray of sunlight shines on the crest of the falls.
Prepare for adventures
As you move further into the Pisgah Wilderness, if your windows are open to catch the breeze, you'll begin to hear adrenaline-fueled screams sweeping through the trees. It's a telltale sign that you're approaching Sliding rock, a waterfall forming a natural body of water along a 60-foot-long gradual slope of river rock. Eager-eyed, swimsuit-clad sliders climb to the launch point at the top and wait their turn. Then, after a lifeguard directs them to their place on one of the many routes along the plunge, they descend the slope and are quickly deposited in a pool at the base, about 8 feet deep and an invigorating cold. Then, completely drenched, they rush to the summit for another attempt.
The forests are full of family-friendly thrills as well as hiking, biking, fishing and climbing opportunities, but there are also quiet times. Standing at a scenic stop on the Blue Ridge Walk, winding along the opposite side of the Pisgah National Forest, you see undulating blue-green ridges stretching out before you, a thin layer of fog rising like a veil from the swaying tree line. They unfold green peaks and valleys along the promenade's viewpoints, panoramas marked by the distant murmurs of water and wind. There is a whole world of beauty to be discovered at this particular altitude.
Where to Eat and Drink in Brevard
Peter Frank Edwards
In summer, the city is bustling with activity. The rest of the year, it is a small community of less than 8,000 inhabitants. But with the warm-weather arrival of campers and their families, musicians and spectators visiting the Brevard Music Center's annual summer institute, and weekend passersby, those numbered balloons and Brevard blocks take on a friendly wiggle and buzz.
Don't skip breakfast
The traveler's journey usually begins with breakfast and the sunny cafe in the city center. Cup and Saucerthe bagel corner Sunrise Caféand the King Street restaurant Morning Social offer caffeine and quick bites to give you energy for the day. They are accompanied by the noise of grinding beans, noisy discussions between old friends, strollers coming in and out, and that familiar cafe refrain where ceramic cups slide on saucers.
HAS Mont Bracken Bakery, a downtown institution, the loaves themselves have fan clubs. The storefront has long been a popular stop for baked goods, and the secret is officially out. You will therefore have to arrive early to claim your place in the queue next to the wall of breads dusted with flour and bathed in morning light. Listen to the crinkle of pastries slipped into waxed parchment envelopes and smell the rising doughs. Check out the rows of bear claws studded with almonds and the case full of danishes, whose flavors run a delicious range: lime, coconut, blueberry cheese and cherry streusel. Next door is a display of scones – banana, pecan, raspberry, blackberry and chocolate cherry – and they're just what's left after a midsummer rush. When you pay, you will probably be asked: “In a bag or in your hand?” and you might, like so many others, decide to choose the latter solution.
Peter Frank Edwards
Enjoy a delicious lunch
After an afternoon of exploring, settle in for lunch at a local brasserie. Live music drifts through the open-air space of Oskar Blues Brewerywhile the wide porches of Ecusta Brewery and at Pisgah Hub and Tavern have panoramic views of the green ridges as well as taps pouring house beers. All three places offer food—Gordingo, located inside Ecusta, offers burritos, nachos and tacos; while Oskar Blues and the Hub and Pisgah Tavern host food trucks on site.
Plan your dinner
For a memorable dinner, head to Wild morel, a cozy restaurant in a charming house with a stone fireplace. Chef Tony Pope's seasonally changing menu is French and Italian inspired and highlights ingredients sourced from the Brevard region, like blackened mountain trout with a lemon-beurre blanc sauce.
Where to Shop in Brevard
Peter Frank Edwards
Discover the creative community
Brevard has become the arts capital of Western North Carolina, not only because of the Brevard Music Center, but also because of the abundance of creators, galleries, and studios in and around the city.
Not far from Bracken Mountain Bakery, A new craftsman opened a store along West Jordan Street. It opened in 2022 and has become a thriving home for regional manufacturers and their products. Browse the shelves, which are full of artisanal and locally produced goods like ceramics and wooden spoons, as well as leather goods and jewelry made on site. You can also participate in one of the store's many hands-on workshops, each of which teaches craft elements like leatherworking, carpentry, metalwork, Appalachian broom making, and other traditional crafts.
A few steps away is another place that displays a passion for handicrafts. HAS Starred press, owner and printmaker Kristen Necessary has built a sanctuary for paper goods and clever design. Shelves and tables hold posters, cards and other works by local artists, both in the store, which also serves as a printmaking studio, and elsewhere in the area. All pieces incorporate traditional techniques such as printmaking, screen printing and engraving. In the corner of the shop is a huge antique letterpress that is at least a century old.
Head to the city center
You'll find even more to discover downtown in the expansive equipment store. The exteriors of DD Bullwinkelwhich can provide you with everything you need for a Western North Carolina adventure, from hiking shoes and water bottles to sleeping bags and kayaks.
Peter Frank Edwards
The mountains are a memorable summer vacation
During your travels, you may hear someone mention the concept of “Brevardness,” a curiously indefinable yet apparent quality that draws people to this welcoming community and invites them to stay. It's hard to describe, but you'll know it when you hear it. You can find it somewhere between the murmur of streams flowing through creeks and the tinkling of plucked banjos in local bars, in the sound of static whitewater and the tread of hiking boots on distant trails. It's even in the faint patter of the smallest feet – those of the city's distinctive white squirrels, little flashes of pale fur that, if you're lucky, you'll spot disappearing into the treetops above or running across a large lawn.
Mountains have been calling travelers for centuries, but if you spend even a few hours in this landscape, you'll discover more than a calling. Here they sing. Chords and birdsong drift through the summer air, thick with heat and crossed by breezes that make the branches of the old trees whisper on the slopes. The question is not whether you will answer the call but whether you will join in a new chorus of Brevard's summer song.
