1. Go whitewater rafting with Hot Springs Rafting Company on the French Broad River. See others Outfitter and Guides too.
2. Listen to a free bluegrass music jam at Zuma.
3. Take in a play at the Southern Appalachian Repertory Theatre.
4. Ski or snowboard the slopes at Wolf Ridge.
5. Dance (or just tap your toe) to traditional music at the Depot.
6. Take a picnic to Max Patch Bald —the 2nd highest spot in the county.
7. Shop for antiques or local crafts.
8. Soak in the natural hot mineral springs.
9. Fish one of the many secluded streams—stocked with trout.
10. Attend an Arts Council concert.
11. Hike a portion of the Appalachian Trail.
12. Visit the Civil War sites along the Civil War Trails.
13. Stand on the Old Buncombe Turnpike (Drovers’ Trail).
14. Take a driving tour through the Blue Ridge Mountains the Pisgah National Forest.
15. Walk through our 100-year old Courthouse designed by Richard Sharp Smith, Biltmore House head architect.
16. Browse the galleries for local artists’ work.
17. Buy local produce, baked goods, and crafts at one of the Farmers Markets.
18. Eat some southern comfort food in one of the many restaurants.
19. Go on a horseback ride.
20. Attend the annual Heritage Festival celebrating our cultural history.
21. Stay in a cabin, inn, or bed & breakfast.
22. Visit where Cecil Sharp collected ballads in 1916.
23. Attend Bluff Mountain Festival for food, fun and free music.
24. Drive the North Carolina Scenic Byway on I 26.
25. Go sledding or tubing in the snow.
26. Practice your shooting skills at Fowler Farms Sporting Clays.
27. Celebrate the Appalachian Trail at Trailfest.
28. Browse the local craft booths at MAD on MAIN Festival.
29. Enjoy blackberry pancakes at the Blackberry Festival.
30. Walk by the oldest buildings on the Mars Hill College campus —the oldest educational institution in Western North Carolina still on its original site.
31. Experience traditional music at the Bascom Lamar Lunsford Festival.
32. Take a tour of one of the local farms.
33. Visit a working artist’s studio.
34. Try your hand at finding garnets in the Little Pine Gem Mine.
35. Walk the Laurel River Trail or one of the other hiking trails in the county.
36. Play a round of disc golf at the Mars Hill College Disc Golf Sanctuary.
37. Discover petroglyphs on Paint Rock.
38. Take in a panoramic view of Hot Springs from Lovers’ Leap Rock.
39. Watch the Bailey Mountain Cloggers perform.
40. Ride your bike in the Hot Doggett 100 (or just cheer them on).
41. Have some fun at one of the French Broad Fridays in downtown Marshall.
42. Relive the Skirmish at Warm Springs in a Civil War re-enactment.
43. Enjoy the spectacular view from the NC State Welcome Center on I 26.
44. Wander through Weizenblatt Gallery on the Mars Hill College campus.
45. Kayak or canoe down the French Broad River.
46. Enjoy the outdoors at a local campground.
47. Visit the location of the original Allanstand —the foundation for the Southern Highlands Craft Guild.
48. Stand where the Minstrel of Appalachia, Bascom Lamar Lunsford , lived.
49. Visit the site of a World War I German Internment Camp.
50. Take a dip in an old-time swimming hole on the Laurel River Trail.
51. Pick berries at a local farm.
52. Take a self-guided walking tour of the town of Mars Hill.
53. View some of the buildings remaining from the Dorland Bell School
54. Drive the NC Scenic Byway along NC Highway 209 through Trust and Luck.
55. Fish for muskie in the French Broad River.
56. Cut a Christmas tree at a local tree farm.
57. Go to our County Fair.
58. Dance or just enjoy the music at Mars Hill Music and More.
59. Take a class to learn pottery.
60. Marvel at the tiny St Jude’s Chapel in Trust.
61. Drive by the county’s first hospital White Rock Presbyterian Hospital.
62. View the historic Anderson Rosenwald School in Mars Hill.
63. Stroll through the Marshall High Studios which was renovated from the old Marshall High School.
64. Visit the sites which tell the tragic story of the Shelton Laurel Massacre during the Civil War.
65. Flip through a scrapbook of Sheriff Bailey who broke up moonshine stills.
66. Enjoy a country breakfast in an old rock school building built in the early 1900s.
67. Fish off the pier on Blannahassett Island in the French Broad River in Marshall.
68. Inspect Cherokee Indian artifacts at the Liston Ramsey Center on Mars Hill College campus.
69. Take a Self-Guided Tour of the town of Hot Springs.
70. Drive the North Carolina Scenic Byway along the French Broad River (the third oldest river in the world).
71. Attend a poetry reading at French Broad Institute.
72. Wander through the Arts Council gallery’s latest exhibit.
73. Stand on the Appalachian Trail right in downtown Hot Springs.
74. Watch rodeo riders compete at the Marshall Rodeo.
75. Visit the site of historic resorts which attracted the rich and famous to Hot Springs.
76. Enjoy a concert at historic Ebbs Chapel Community Center.
77. Take a self-guided walking tour of the town of Marshall.
78. Fish in a trout pond (no fishing license required).
79. Stop by the local newspaper office located in an old railroad car in Marshall.
80. Climb the Rich Mountain Fire Tower —constructed by boys from the Hot Springs CCC Camp in the 1930s—for great views.
81. Relax in a pew in Dorland Memorial Presbyterian Church , a National Register Historic Building built in 1900.
82. Drive by the many barn quilts decorating barns and buildings in the county.
83. Walk across the Old Red Bridge in Hot Springs.
84. Participate in the French Broad Classic Bike Race (or just watch).
85. Celebrate the French Broad River at the French Broad River Festival.
86. Marvel at the carvings on the Broyhill Chapel door (Mars Hill College) which were designed and hand-carved by then-president Dr. Fred Bentley.
87. Stand on the bridge connecting Marshall to Blannahassett Island and watch the trains go by.
88. Visit the site of the first 9-hole golf course in North Carolina.
89. Spend the night at a local farm.
90. Walk by McConnell Hall on Mars Hill College campus, designed by architect Richard Sharp Smith.
91. Visit the location of the first county seat in the community of Walnut.
92. Practice your disc golf toss or use the walking path on Blannahassett Island.
93. Celebrate “Fat Tuesday” at Marshall Gras.
94. Follow clues to a geocaching container in the beautiful rural areas of the county.
95. Take a class to make a rustic chair.
96. Examine the Bascom Lamar Lunsford collection at Mars Hill College Renfro Library’s Liston Ramsey Room.
97. Wonder at the sight of hundreds of fireflies in a meadow in the month of June.
98. Enjoy an open air concert on Blannahassett Island in Marshall.
99. Research genealogy at the Madison County Library in Marshall.
100. Stop by the new location of the Visitor Center —a renovated service station in downtown Mars Hill.
River Lodge Log Cabins 