We came here during our trip to the Asheville area. We absolutely loved our visit here. They have…read moreample parking in front of the nature center. The only negative is that there is no direct ramp from the bear parking lot to the entrance, you have to walk completely around if you have a stroller or carry it up the stairs that go to and from that parking lot. We got tickets right away and didn't have to wait in line. You need to keep in my mind that this is not a zoo. It is a small nature center, their focus is on highlighting/featuring animals that live naturally in the Western Carolina's. I love that this is their focus, as I learned so much about the wildlife in our surrounding area. Also, a lot of their animals are rescued animals that can't be released back into the wild. All the exhibits were well maintained and had wonderful information signage. The wellness center had great signage and was easy to get around. It took us about 2 hours to do the entire center. It looks like the nature center will be expanding / updating their exhibits. This is a great place to educate yourself and kids about the types of wildlife in the western Carolina area and things you can do to help keep nature wild / conserve nature. I also loved their pollinator garden! We need more awareness about the importance of pollinators! They also had interactive playgrounds sprinkled throughout the center for kids to play on. All the walking paths were shaded. It felt nice and cool walking underneath the trees here. If we lived in the area we would definitely come back.

We had a fantastic baby shower here. All the guests thoroughly enjoyed it. Afterwards, everyone got…read moreto tour the zoo. Brenna, our party coordinator was outstanding to work with. Definitely consider for your next event.

We went awhile back to see Charlotte and were sorely disappointed. Hearing of her death today…read morereminded me I had forgotten to write a review. This location is privately run and not for educational purposes. More like going to a friends house to see their pets. Please consider going to an aquarium run by scientists for educational purposes.

I want to say this has been one of the highlights of my family trip. When your 16 yo his 17 yo best…read morefriend and wife all agree on this fact it says something. As adults we have this tendency to say "if I knew then what I knew now, I'd have paid more attention in school!" Well here's your chance. This tiny aquarium will impart more knowledge in a short visit than you probably take in most months if you take advantage of it. The interns and owner (a former teacher) are committed to answering questions. The things they are studying and sharing are amazing. If you go in and you want to learn and ask questions this will be an experience you won't forget. Think of the best science teacher you ever had, having an opportunity to show the world what she loves to talk about... and that is what you have here. Do yourself a favor, go, enjoy and learn!!

Had a birthday party for my 11 year old son here along with 10 of his friends, and couldn't have…read morebeen happier with the experience. Everything was incredibly well coordinated, and John did a fantastic job keeping the rowdy kids engaged, safe and fair with a flexible timeline to accommodate maximum playtime. Can't recommend Black Mountain Adventure Zone highly enough, absolutely excellent value compared to so many similar party options, would happily repeat- and I think the boys who attended would gladly echo this sentiment.

Our family had a great time playing GellyBall! It stings, but it was so much fun and more than…read moreenough time to enjoy. John was flexible, caring, kind, and professional!

Since we were in the area, we figured why not! The staff here was super nice and didn't treat us…read moreany differently being two 20 something year olds getting stuffed animals at a place geared towards like 12 and under. In fact, they did the opposite and joked around with us and still gave us the full experience. Each build-a-bear is just like the last, however the staff here were what made our experience great.

Such a fun place! My daughter has had her bear for over six years now and it has been all over the…read moreworld. It is durable, soft, and by now part of the family. They have cute clothing and accessories for the Bears - my daughter just loves it.

The kids zip line course was fully booked for the AM so we had to do the Tree Top adventure…read moreObstacle Course because one of us was under 8 (minimum age for the full size zip line) and boy are we glad we did! The obstacle course was fun and challenging, we were entertained the full 2 hours and the kids loved the independent nature of it. There were plenty of courses and we didn't even finish them all so it will keep you busy the full 2 hours. I was actually scared a couple of times and was shocked how brave my kids were. The set up is extremely safe thanks to a unique two smart buckle feature (it has a safety feature where you cannot unbuckle one of the buckles until the other buckle is on the wire, so you always have one buckle safely attached to catch you. Great because even distracted kids can't screw it up. Definitely worth it.

Owned by a local family, the Adventure Center of Asheville is close to downtown Asheville. Visiting…read moreNorth Carolina on a long weekend from Washington, D.C. in December, my family of three went for their 5th annual Winter Wonder Walk. Getting combo tickets, we started with the treetop glow trail on their high ropes course. Next, we visited a market of kid makers. Afterwards, we walked their story-walk trail about Jack Frost. The trail includes stops and actors. My eight-year-old daughter loved it! What a fun seasonal experience!

Blue Ridge Parkway is such an incredibly beautiful drive and well worth taking a few minutes out of…read morethe way to enjoy this lovely detour. It should be a crime that the government wants to privatize all national parks and it's a shame that we may not be able to enjoy this stunning area of the United States much longer. Take the long way during your roadtrip and drive through the Blue Ridge Parkway with the windows down, you will not be disappointed! The fresh air and calming scenery is healing to the soul! There are plenty of overlooks, as well. Take your time, enjoy the ride!

The Blue Ridge Parkway spans several hundred miles long and a good chunk of it was unfortunately…read moreclosed when we came through due to hurricane damage but we were able to do a few hours on the road from the edge of the Smoky Mountains NP all the way to Asheville and it was GORGEOUS. The open stretch was in higher elevations (hence not impacted by the hurricane) which meant we had some really spectacular views of the mountains and terrain. It really was wonderful. There are a ton of scenic overlooks and a few maintained spots where you can pull over and enjoy a picnic or use the facilities (they're barebones restrooms but they have them) but aside from that amenities are few and far between so be sure to pack some food, drinks, and make sure your tank is full of gas so you can enjoy the views and explore stress free! The only trouble was there wasn't a lot of information available on what we'd find on the parkway (meaning what stretch was closed, what was open, must see overlooks, hiking trails, etc) as the visitors centers were closed and the Smoky Mountain NP visitor center we stopped into didn't have any brochures or maps or anything. Luckily once we got onto the parkway we were able to find a scenic overview with some signage that had a map so we took a picture of that and was helpful. The good news is is that I believe right after our trip they reopened another large stretch of the Parkway northeast for Asheville (which I believe has has all the amazing waterfalls) so we'll have to come back another time to enjoy all those views!

This is a great little stop. Fun for all ages. You walk through what seems like a mile of trails…read morewith a different dinosaur every few steps. There is information on each species and hands-on activities like dusting for dinosaur prints. Everything is on the honor system so your donation goes in at the beginning but they also have a gift shop which is really great considering that no one is there watching. It restores my faith and humanity to know that people are so honest. It does say this is a dog friendly activity, but a tied up barking dog on the other side of the fence made part of the journey a little bit difficult for my small dog. She was almost as frightened by the neighbor's dog as I was of some of the exhibits I went through that had sound and scared the heck out of me. They don't call it backyard terriers for nothing :) but it's all in fun. Don't be afraid of the parking even though it can get a little tight. We had fun and this is definitely an affordable way to kill some time and keep the kids busy while they learn.

Bring your kids or just pretend you're one for the day!…read more We had no clue what we were getting into with our arrival. We were just looking for something to do. It was free with a suggested 5 dollar donation. We donated before we knew what we were getting into but darn it, we were SO IMPRESSED!!! There must have been 50 dinos over acres and acres of land. I got in a good mile of walking there. What a fun way to spend an hour or two!

Great time at Ninjaville for our 8 yo birthday party, every kid there had a blast. The coach was…read moregreat at keeping them safe which allowed them to push themselves a little on the obstacles. Great space for a birthday party too! Looking forward to going back!

Ninjaville is amazing!! Coach Kermit is a true pro with kids. They learn discipline, listening,…read morecomprehension, and focus. Coach Kermit doesn't cut corners and expects discipline and respect. My seven year old LOVED the summer camp.