The Ultimate Self-Guided Bike Tour Of Asheville, North Carolina
Asheville, North Carolina is a weird and wonderful place that’s fun to explore by bike. While there are some great companies who offer guided bike tours, doing it yourself offers more flexibility and is suitable for those on small budgets. This self-guided bike tour of Asheville that is family, budget, vegan and queer-friendly offers a unique way to adventure Asheville. This guide was created by combining my own personal favorite biking route with insights from Second Gear‘s local bike experts!
Is Asheville, North Carolina Bike Friendly?
Asheville is an incredible place for mountain bikers with endless trails that feature lush greenery, ancient mountains, and diverse wildlife. But what about city bikers? While Asheville isn’t the most bike-friendly place, West Asheville is most bike-able featuring a paved greenway that runs right along the French Broad River. As one of the oldest rivers in the world, the French Broad dates back anywhere from 260-325 million years old. Riverlink.org shares that “The Cherokee names for the French Broad River vary, but the most common was Tah-kee-os-tee, meaning ‘racing waters’ since many Cherokee would race canoes on this river.” These days you’ll find tubers cruising the small rapids while bikers, walkers, and skaters race past them on the parallel paved trails.
Preparing For Your Bike Trip
What To Bring
For this self-guided bike route you’ll want to bring a reusable water bottle, helmet, money, and proper clothing based on the season. There will be ample stops along the way where you can fill up your water bottle for free and use the restrooms as well as shopping, dining, and art opportunities.
About The Bike Route: Choose Your Asheville Adventure
This bike route offers flexibility in route length and time spent on the road. For those who plan to bike the shortest version of the route, you can expect it to take 2.5 – 4.5 hours, depending on how fast you bike and how many stops you make. Extending your route and cruising through Carrier park will add at least another half hour to the journey. Since Asheville is full of hills and twists, it’s important to note that this bike route is not completely flat. You can expect a couple gradual uphill climbs, and one exciting downhill ride over the bridge.
Bike Route Option 1: Begins and ends at Second Gear, riders return back to Second Gear after exiting the River Arts District via Riverside Drive bike greenway. Features West Asheville, local businesses, art galleries, French Broad Greenway, River Arts District
- Estimated Route Length: 3.56 miles
Bike Route Option 2: (as shown on the interactive map below): Begins and ends at Second Gear, riders follow the map and return to Second Gear via the French Broad Park greenway. Features West Asheville, local businesses, art galleries, French Broad Greenway, River Arts District, French Broad Park
- Estimated Route Length: 5.57 miles
Bike Route Option 3: Begins and ends at Second Gear, riders continue on to loop through Carrier Park before also returning via the French Broad Park greenway. Features West Asheville, local businesses, art galleries, French Broad Greenway, River Arts District, French Broad and Carrier Park
- Estimated Route Length: 7.82 miles
Bring Your Own Bike Or Rent A Bike
Bringing your own bike will cut down costs immensely, but if you’re ready to hit the road and need to rent a bike I highly recommend renting through The Flying Bike, which is one of the stops on our self-guided route. They’re a local collective that rents e-bikes, electric hybrids, cruiser bikes, kid’s bikes, regular pedal bikes, and more. Along side your bike you’ll be provided with a helmet, bike lock, rear cargo bag & rain cover, and poncho.
Where To Start Your Self-Guided Bike Adventure In Asheville
Your adventure begins across from Second Gear which is in the Arts District. You can park along the side of the road which sits parallel to a wide biking lane. If you need to use the restroom, grab a snack, or get some gear before your bike trip, Second Gear has you covered!
Interactive Bike Map Of Asheville
Self-Guided Bike Route Written Directions (Route Option 2)
Use the interactive map above to follow the route through West Asheville. Each number and pinpoint comes with notes on our favorite places to stop along the way. For those who like old-school written directions, here’s where you’ll be going:
- Begin at Second Gear – Stop in for snacks, gear, and more.
- Left on Craven Street
- Left on Craven Street
- Right On Waynesville Avenue – This is a great place to admire the funky and weird houses! See if you can snap a photo in front of the house with the up-cycled bicycle art.
- Continue on to Haywood Road
- Left on Haywood Road – Take a moment here to pop into Bagatelle Books, Flora (coffee shop + floral store), or Harvest Records. Further down Haywood Road fuel up at Battlecat Cafe or relax at Archetype Brewery (located back off the road behind Gan Shan) which features a completely vegan-friendly beer menu and non-alcoholic drinks.
- Left on Haywood Road – Be ready to pick up speed as you go down the hill and over the bridge!
- Right on Roberts Street – Ride through streets lined with art studios and stop in whichever one calls to you.
- Right on Lyman Street –Stop at Ultra Coffee bar for a huge selection of plant-based drinks, loaded bagels, sandwiches, snacks, and more. Continuing down this street you’ll pass The Flying Bike on your right. Stop in to fill up your tires, tune up your bike, and shop local vendors. (Plus they have extremely clean bathrooms and a free water refill station!)
- Left on Lyman Street
- Right on Old Lyman Street – Turn into the heart of the Art’s District and admire the graffiti.
- Right on Foundy Street – While in the art complex stop into Summit Coffee for a refreshment, wander through the art galleries, and see what the Grail Moviehouse is showing.
- Right on Lyman Street – Into wine? Pleb Winery features local drinks in a nice atmosphere.
- Left on Amboy Road – If you would like to lengthen your route, learn the next step in the section below.
- Right to French Broad River Park – If you need a break, grab some shade in the French Broad park under a tree or by the river.
- French Broad Greenway – Follow the greenway among other walkers and bikers back to Haywood Road.
- Right on Haywood Road
- Left on Riverside Drive
- End at Second Gear
Extend Your Bike Route
Ready to go further? For those who would like to expand their bike route and see more of what Asheville has to offer, you can continue straight on Amboy Road (instead of turning right into the French Broad Park) and ride through Carrier Park on the trails up around the skating rink (also called the MellowDrome) before returning back to the French Broad Park to return via the route above.
About The Businesses Along The Way
⭐️ = Writer’s Favorite Recommendations
⭐️ Second Gear is a used gear and consignment store who offers high-quality used gear and clothing in effort to make outdoor adventure more accessible to the local community. Since 2004 Second Gear has had over 13,000 consigners which resulted in over 6 million dollars in consignment feeds paid out to mostly local and regional residents. Since then they’ve also shared over $130,000 with nonprofit partners.
🥾 Stop in for used bike gear, heavily discounted adventure clothing, and awesome local recommendations. They also have a gelato shop where there’s always one plant-based option.
⭐️ Flora is a floral design studio and retail plant shop that doubles as a tea house. What started as a wedding and events business in a botanical-loving mother’s basement in West Asheville has expanded into the botanical paradise that we know today.
🌸 Covered by vines, flowers, and beauty in every corner, it’s a peaceful place to take a break and admire the greenery.
Bagatelle Books is a used and rare bookshop that neighbors Flora. Expect to find books on LGBTQ+ issues, phycology, sexuality, counterculture, Appalachia, Native American studies, and more.
📚 Stop in to browse through books that are often otherwise hard to find.
BattleCat Coffee Bar is a local’s favorite. Serving up local roster PennyCup alongside food options, this female and Black owned coffee shop feels like a cozy haven in West Asheville.
☕️ Stop at BattleCat Coffee Bar to grab a local roast, admire the art, and people watch from the font deck.
Archetype Brewery is located behind the Gan Shan noodle shop, just before you turn downhill onto Haywood Road.
🍻 Sitting off the street, this airy brewery offers a fully vegan-friendly beer menu plus gluten-free and non-alcoholic drinks. Grab vegetable ramen and Gai Lon from Gan Shan or a plant-based pizza from Pizza Mind and enjoy the sky deck at Archetype Brewery. Every first Thursday at 7 PM Archetype offers “Karaoke Kiki” with a local drag queen.
⭐️ Ultra Coffeebar is by far my favorite food stop on this bike route. Located at the 5 points intersection in the heart of the River Arts District, their full espresso bar takes pride in making all of their coffee flavor shots in-house, which means no pretend flavors or excessive sugars. They offer a wide selection of breakfast and lunch items with expansive plant-based offerings. On their menu you’ll find homemade almond milk ranch, pickled veggies, grilled tofu eggs, plant-based cream cheese, tempeh bacon, buffalo tempeh, and more.
🌱 Stop in between 8 AM and 3 PM to delight your tastebuds and take some plant-powered snacks and baked goods for the road.
The Flying Bike was born after a couple sold their Honda Civic and replaced it with an electric bike, making their route to and from work so much more enjoyable. Now are a bicycle hub that rents out all sorts of bike to locals and tourists alike while giving new life to their old feet of electricity bikes through community events and fundraising rides.
🚴 Stop in to fill up your tires, tune up your bike, refill your water, use the restroom, and pick the brains of fellow bike lovers. This is also a great place to rent a bike for this bike ride (they offer a wide variety of bikes, including children and animal companion-friendly ones) before you hit the road.
The River Arts District has gone through a lot of transformation to become what it is today. This informational article goes through the history of this area as first Cherokee land, then colonized, before entering an “industrial era.” In 1985 artists of all kinds began moving into the RAD. Now the RAD “is currently undergoing improvements guided by community leaders, artists, residents, and business partners to create a vibrant, sustainable urban plan. Committed to making ART the heART of the River Arts District, we aim to share our creativity, celebrate diversity, and support one another for many years to come.”
🎨 Ride through the RAD and stop to check out local galleries featuring hundreds of local artists. Here you can buy art or simply admire it. While in the area we recommend checking out the Grail Moviehouse’s schedule so that you can come back and watch a film in our favorite Indie theatre. ⭐️ Summit Coffee is our favorite coffee shop on the route, offering delicious snacks from Back Porch Baking Co. and serving up non-dairy drinks with a $0 uncharge. Pleb Urban Winery features wine made from grapes grown locally in the surrounding mountains using biodynamic farming practices.
Route Reviews:
“I did the tour on a day when the weather was great despite the rain and was totally blissed out the whole time. Great route and it’s nice to have fun stops along the way. Such a great way to experience Asheville in a different way. I’m a local but I got closer to Asheville I felt like and got a good sweat in the meantime on this self-guided tour. Highly recommend.” – Jermey Loeb, Asheville Local
“Taking a bike ride in Asheville was a lot of fun. Coming from a country full of bikes I really enjoyed being able to bike in the country of cars. Asheville is such a cool city with multiple city ‘centers’ and areas that are easy to see and explore by bike. Riding along the river is just lovely! Also a great opportunity to stop at a lot of beautiful places for snacks, food, and a little bit of shopping. You can either use the map for a couple hours of fun or a whole day excursion. But non the less it’s gonna be a great time!” – Anne Bak, Copenhagen, Denmark
Looking for more of the best businesses in Asheville? Check out our LGBTQ+ guide to Asheville which features additional restaurants, shops, activities, nonprofits, and more.
