Asheville Cabin Rental Blog

Looking for something great to do with your family near our cabins in Asheville, NC this fall?  All of the following pumpkin patches, corn mazes, and haunted trails are near our cabins.

As October creeps into Asheville, NC the chatter of the next holiday comes sneaking through conversations – Halloween.  Asheville, being a very eclectic city, seems to focus on the holiday and as the smells of Fall enter the air, there is a stir of what everyone is going to wear for Halloween and where people will go for a haunted house, a corn maze, a pumpkin patch…not only from the children, but from adults alike!  This amazing Blue Ridge mountain area provides the perfect setting for the holiday with spots even within the city for haunted corn mazes, great trick or treating, and theme parties to celebrate this haunted holiday.

When searching for the perfect pumpkin patch or corn maze, there is a difficult decision ahead.  Throughout the surrounding areas of Asheville, even past Buncombe County, including Henderson County, Transylvania County, and even into Greenville, people from Asheville are faced with many options.

Corn Mazes and Haunted Mazes

Asheville boasts its very own yearly corn maze at Eliada’s “Fields of Fun”, and 2011 brings forth the “pirate ship design”.  Eliada Home is a century old children’s home, and before Halloween each year it features a fundraising corn maze, that focuses on a historic barn at the facility with farm animals to share in the excitement of the maze.  Asheville’s Eliada boasts 12 acres of maze including a hay bale maze, corn cannons, and “pumpkin ship” for young children.  Fridays are fun-filled, Eliada adds live bluegrass music and barbeque food, live music, costume and dance parties - something different and exciting each Friday starting September 23.  A separate field is for the haunted corn maze, not for the young or weary (Friday and Saturdays starting October 14-29)!  Eliada’s Fields of Fun events start September 23, 2011, at 2 Compton Dr Asheville, NC 28806.  For more information visit Fields of Fun.

The Blue Ridge Corn Maze is near Asheville in Pisgah Forest, and includes 6 acres of haunted corn maze.  They are open July-October, with their haunted maze October 21-22 and 28-29.  If guests pay regular admission and mention the non-profit of choice, they will donate $2 to that non-profit.  Location: 1605 Everett Rd Pisgah Forest, NC, visit Blue Ridge Corn Maze for more information.

Pumpkin Patches

Pumpkin patches are an old October favorite, and with a plethora of apple orchards and farms in this Asheville area, pumpkin seekers are bound to find the perfect spot to choose this year’s pumpkins!  Many orchards in the area are run by generations of families and provide wonderful options for a day with the family.

At Justus Orchard, you choose if you want to pick your pumpkins or they will pick for you (also offer apples and peaches, blackberries, and more).  They even have an on site bakery with apple donuts and pies and offer local vegetables.  If guests wish to enter the orchard, try a tractor ride with hot apple cider.

Coston Farms offers pre-picked apples and pumpkins to celebrate this season.  Many patrons even use their goods for festive decorations in the home.

Creasman Farms offers a pick your own option with pumpkins, gourds, and beans ready for children and adults to enjoy some time on their property – they also have an animal farm on site and children love the goats and geese.

Pick your own pumpkins at Stepp’s Orchard, or select from pre-picked pumpkins, just outside of Asheville in Hendersonville, NC.  They also offer orchard farm tours, wagon rides on the weekends, and are celebrating their 41st season.  Take a ride on their farm wagon through acres of orchard, and visit their Country Market for delicious apple butter - and more!

Grandad’s Apples has it all, the corn maze, the pumpkin patch, apples, farm animals, all right near Asheville.  They even have a cow train ride for youngsters made of painted barrels to resemble a cow.  A definite favorite at Grandad’s!

Family fun, with a barnyard tour, giant pumpkins, and fresh vegetables are found at Lyda Farms.  Don’t forget your free apple when you leave this 5^th generation family orchard.

Asheville Does Corn Mazes/Pumpkin Patches

Whether you’re looking for the scariest haunted corn maze, the family friendly maze with haybale rides, or the pumpkin patches, you can have it all in Asheville.  In such a diverse place, you are sure to find your niche with pick your own pumpkins, tractor rides, animal farms, and apple cider.  The fall screams Halloween, corn mazes and pumpkin patches so celebrate this year with some of these great local spots this October!

Article by April Miller

ASHEVILLE, NC – Kathy Mathews predicts 2011 will offer an excellent season for fall colors in the Western North Carolina mountains.

The annual prediction from Kathy Mathews, Western Carolina University’s fearless fall foliage forecaster, should make chamber of commerce officials across the Western North Carolina mountains happy this year.

That’s because Mathews is calling for an excellent fall color show, thanks in large part to weather conditions over the spring and summer.

“2011 should prove to be an excellent year for fall color,” said Mathews, WCU associate professor of biology specializing in plant systematics. “While heavy spring rain is generally not a good sign for fall color, records indicate that rainfall was slightly below normal for March, average for April and May, and slightly below normal for June and July, as gardeners struggled to keep their crops watered,” she said. “These conditions actually are promising for good development of leaf color in September and October.”

In addition, mid-August brought a respite from the hot temperatures of June and July, another good sign of vibrant leaf color during autumn, she said.

Mathews believes that the formation of higher levels of yellow, orange and red pigments in the leaves seems to correlate with dry weather throughout the year. The drier the climate, the more brilliant the fall leaves tend to be, she said.

Of course, when it comes to forecasting the vibrancy of the fall color season, just as with forecasting the weather, there are no guarantees. Cloud cover and ample rainfall in the weeks ahead could mute the color show, Mathews said.

“Anyone remembering the last two years may have noticed a shortage of brilliant red leaves in our area, which could be blamed on cloudy weather and rain during the fall,” she said. “Hurricane season also can be hard to predict as far as bringing rain to the mountains, but if we see cool and sunny weather, we can expect nice red color to develop this year.”

Some weather forecast models show Hurricane Irene, currently moving across the Caribbean Sea, dropping heavy rains on Western North Carolina, which could affect fall colors in the mountains, Mathews said.

Cooler temperatures of autumn contribute to the decomposition of chlorophyll, the chemical that gives leaves their green color in spring and summer. As chlorophyll breaks down, yellow pigments – always present in the leaves, but masked by the green of chlorophyll – are revealed, and new red pigments are produced.

Depending upon the timing of the first frost, the peak of fall color should arrive during the second week of October in the higher elevations, and during the third week of October in the mid-elevations, Mathews said.

“Early November can bring surprising bursts of color, too, particularly between 2,500 and 3,000 feet as the oaks peak out in oranges and reds while other trees’ colors are lingering,” she said. “Those planning leaf-peeping vacations should have a fairly broad window of time in which to choose for viewing excellent color change in the mountains this year.”

The color change should begin at the higher mountain elevations in late September and continue through mid-November in the lower levels of WNC.

“Look for the earliest color change to take place on the sourwoods and dogwoods, which both turn red, as well as the tulip poplars, which become yellow but tend to turn brown early,” Mathews said. “Colorful maples, with hues of red, orange and yellow, and birches, which turn yellow, bring us into the peak period. Finally, oaks turn orange and red to round out the later color change in the season.”

Sweet birches and tulip poplars already are starting to turn yellow in the mid-elevations around Cullowhee, which is a normal occurrence for this time of year, she said.

“Over the month of September, the color change should continue and spread. Expect buckeyes to give pops of orange early, as well. Maples will add more yellow, oranges and reds as they gradually change in late September, and sourwoods should turn a beautiful, deep red,” Mathews said.