Western North Carolina is renowned worldwide as an autumn destination, and there’s no better place to enjoy the vibrant colors and cool mountain air than the majestic Biltmore Estate.
Designed more than 100 years ago by the father of landscape architecture, Frederick Law Olmstead, the formal and informal gardens on this 8,000-acre estate include thousands of fall mums in blooms of red, yellow, purple and more. Ornamental grasses and woodland shrubs add various shades of yellow, red and orange. The backdrops of pasture areas and mountain ridges feature tree foliage such as yellow and gold hickories, burgundy sourwoods and red oaks. And the crisp, clear air this time of year reveals mountain views that stretch out for miles.
Simply strolling through the estate is a wonderful way to spend a fall day. Biltmore’s woodland trails take walkers past a waterfall, through ravines, and over rustic wooden bridges.
At the estate’s Outdoor Center, visitors can enjoy carriage rides, go horseback riding, take a Segway tour, or go fly-fishing. Some take the opportunity to navigate an off-road course in Biltmore’s Land Rover Experience Driving School.
Guests who are equestrians can bring their own horses and explore more than 80 miles of estate trails. The Vanderbilts and their guests used these same paths at the turn of the 19th Century. The wide, well-marked trails and take riders through pristine forests and green pastures, and along the banks of the French Broad River. The estate has five loops ranging from 10 to 30 miles. Some trails can include optional jumps, while others are suitable for carriages. Guided trail rides using Biltmore horses are also available.
In keeping with Biltmore’s celebration of the 1890s way of life, the River Bend Farm includes craft demonstrations, farm equipment of the day, a barn full of farm animals.
Finally, as with any time of year, the Biltmore House itself is spectacular. Of particular recent interest are newly opened rooms that had been closed to the public for almost 100 years. These include the Damask Room with its silk damask draperies and damask-style wallpaper, the Claude Room featuring paintings from the French painter Claude Lorrain, the Tyrolean Chimney Room and its centerpiece antique tile-stove, and the grand Louis XV Room with gold and red silk cut velvet and Louis XV-style furnishings and elaborate accessories.
