Thank you Visit NC for sponsoring this post. As always, all opinions are my own!
I have always been the girl who enjoys the “idea” of farm life. Cute, fuzzy animals, spending time in nature, surrounded by fresh food and family. Swoon. What could be better? If you listen closely, you can probably hear my husband chuckling and shaking his head in the background. Realistically, I know that I’m a city girl (re: suburban girl) at heart. If I’m not 10 minutes from a supermarket, I’m basically in the sticks. And losing cell service is my idea of a nightmare. However, even I can agree that it’s great to take time to unplug- enjoying the natural beauty of the world around us. Living in North Carolina, we’re lucky to have so many beautiful getaways within driving distance. After doing some digging, I found out I could have a weekend farm stay to experience some country livin’ only two hours from Charlotte! So when I got the opportunity to book a couple’s farm stay with Will in the mountains of North Carolina, I jumped at the chance! Our homebase was in Hendersonville, NC but we explored the whole area, Tryon, Chimney Rock, Mills Spring, and Flat Rock! With so much to see and do, we were entertained from start to finish.
Hendersonville, North Carolina is located in Henderson County in Western NC. The convenient location to our home in Charlotte, North Carolina was a big selling point for us. At only 2 hours away, it was the perfect distance for a weekend road trip. After Will finished work at 6, we ate dinner and left for the farm to arrive just in time for bed. It’s also only an hour from Greenville, South Carolina and 25 minutes from Asheville, North Carolina if you’re looking to fly in from a little bit further away!
We stayed at The Horseshoe Farm, a luxury farm in Hendersonville, North Carolina. We chose the Stable Loft area which were individual rooms at the top of a renovated barn! The shared kitchen and living room make it feel like a more intimate hotel experience. The farm had an on-site restaurant called The Silo Cookhouse with some incredible dining options for brunch and dinner. The dining is uniquely “family-style” tables where you eat with random guests. While it spiked my social anxiety for a few moments, it ended up being a fun way to meet people! My pro tip is to make reservations as soon as possible. The restaurant is a favorite for locals as well so it can book up pretty fast! Another tip? Ask the locals at family dinner about their favorite spots!
You can fish on the property, enjoy time at the pool and unwind at their award-winning spa. In fact, Will and I did a couples massage on Saturday and loved the extra relaxation time! All of this is available while taking in the 85 acres of farmland and walking trails to stroll along during the day. It was the perfect amount of farm life and relaxation for this city girl, so I’d highly recommend it.
Springfield Inn Bed & Breakfast- Hetford, North Carolina
Old Orchard Creek- Lansing, North Carolina
The Inn at Celebrity Dairy- Siler City, North Carolina
Fickle Creek Farm- Efland, North Carolina
Benjamin W. Best Inn- Snow Hill, North Carolina
They have the cutest downtown scene with restaurants, live music, and shops- including an authentic general store! And of course, you know this bibliophile had to make time to stop by the bookstore, too. The area was filled with art installations to enjoy during your walks up and down main street. Honestly, the weather was so nice that weekend that we even took a few moments to people watch on the benches! Plenty of stuff to keep you occupied for the weekend.
On Saturday, we traveled to Tryon International, a world-class equestrian center about 45 minutes away in Polk County. There we got to explore the grounds, visit the stables, and learn about everything it takes to train the horses. They even shared they had 5-6 Olympians that train at their site year-round! After a small tour, we then took an hour-long horseback ride along the trails. Before this trip, I was a little bit hesitant to try something like this. I haven’t been horseback riding since attending a birthday party when I was 8 years old! However, the staff were extremely knowledgeable and calmed all of my fears before getting on the horses. The trails were shaded by a lot of trees so it didn’t get too hot. And we took a ride at a leisurely pace around the grounds and even stopped by a stream for a break. The horses are well trained for inexperienced riders and children, so I don’t know why I thought I’d be galloping off into the sunset. LOL. It was definitely one of our highlights of the weekend even though I was sore for 2 days afterwards!
Charlotte has its fair share of breweries, so my husband and I decided to check out a cidery on Saturday afternoon. I’ve been a fan of Bold Rock Cider so it was fun to see the operation up close! As we drove home through Rutherford County, we made one more stop at Burntshirt Winery Tasting Room and Bistro in Chimney Rock, North Carolina. They have two locations. The winery and vineyard are in Hendersonville. The mountain views were gorgeous and you could even see a waterfall from the restaurant! They had a bluegrass band playing throughout the afternoon as we sipped our drinks. It was truly idyllic. Before this trip, I was unaware of just how many vineyards were in the Hendersonville area. So many that they call it the Crest of the Blue Ridge AVA or wine country. Now, it’s my mission to bring my mom and sister back for a weekend because they would love it!
If we had another day I would have suggested a day trip to Asheville, Brevard, Cherokee, and Bryson City. I’ve visited this region of North Carolina a few times in the past with my husband, but there is always more to explore!
A lot of people only journey to this side of the state for the gorgeous color changes in the fall. However, I really loved getting to experience the mountain air in the summer. Something about being completely surrounded by greenery is so calming! It also felt way less crowded than it probably would have been in the cooler months. All in all, we had an unforgettable couple’s weekend. I had celebrated my 30th birthday the weekend before with friends, but this allowed us to have some much-needed alone time. It was the perfect way to cap my summer travels and hope to visit again sometime soon.
Would you do a farm stay? Let me know in the comments!
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