
Enjoy springtime blooms in North Carolina!
Join us April 3-10, 2025
Join Peter Moe, former Director of the Minnesota Landscape Arboretum, for a week-long tour through the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains, enjoying the Springtime blooms in North Carolina with your fellow Arboretum members. While the tour starts in Charlotte, the majority of the week will be spent in the Asheville area. A thriving mountain city, downtown Asheville is an eclectic mix of art galleries, architectural styles, an award-winning culinary scene and numerous live music venues, all surrounded by the scenic Blue Ridge Mountains.
Trip Highlights
- Wing Haven Gardens
- UNC Botanical Garden
- McGill Rose Garden
- Romare Bearden Park
- Daniel Stowe Botanical Garden
- Grove Arcade and Woolworth Walk
- The Biltmore Estate
- Folk Art Center
- Dupont State Forest
- Blue Ridge Parkway National Park Visitor Center
- Pisgah National Forest
Cost Information
Cost Details
Tour Price: $3,995 per person, double occupancy; $1,295 additional fee for an individual room.
- A deposit of $500 per person is due with the signed registration form.
- Final payment is due on Feb, 19, 2025.
- Cancellation policy: Prior to Feb. 19, 2025, is a $250 penalty. After Feb. 19, no refund is available.
Trip Itinerary
Thursday, April 3
After flying non-stop from Minneapolis to Charlotte International Airport (CLT), a motorcoach will pick up the group and head to Wing Haven Gardens, an Arboretum reciprocal garden. There are actually three different gardens, all on the same street, that together make up Wing Haven. The first is a respite for birds and other wildlife; 10 houses away is the garden of internationally-celebrated garden writer Elizabeth Lawrence; and in between is the SEED Wildlife & Children’s Garden, which welcomes children of all ages. After this delightful visit, check into your Charlotte hotel and walk with the group to dinner, included in your tour cost, to get to know your fellow travelers.
Friday, April 4
Your day will begin with a guided tour of the University of North Carolina’s Botanical Garden. From the Greenhouse to the Susie Harwood Garden to the Van Landingham Glen, you’ll be surrounded by Spring wildflowers and so much more. After visiting two more gardens, the McGill Rose Garden and Romare Bearden Park, you’ll have free time in downtown Charlotte. There are many options for lunch and then a visit to a museum of your choice, such as the Mint Museum Uptown, the Bechtler Museum of Modern Art, the Levine Museum of the New South, or the NASCAR Hall of Fame. The bus will take you back to the hotel at the end of the day.
Saturday, April 5
Today you’ll travel west from Charlotte towards Asheville and the Blue Ridge Mountains, stopping first at the Daniel Stowe Botanical Garden, another Arboretum reciprocal garden. There’s so much to see in the 30-acre site: six separate gardens, 3.2-miles of walking trails, and an 8,000-square-foot glass house dedicated to orchids and tropical plants. After a traditional North Carolina BBQ lunch (included), visit the small Asheville Botanical Garden before checking into your hotel in downtown Asheville. There are no planned events for this evening, giving you time to experience Asheville’s renown food & music scene on your own.
Sunday, April 6
You will not be touring on a bus today, but rather on foot and on a trolley. In downtown Asheville you’ll tour a community garden, the Grove Arcade (built in 1928 as America’s first indoor shopping mall), and the Woolworth Walk (an art gallery in the repurposed store, complete with the restored soda fountain). After all that activity, stop for Sunday Brunch at a local restaurant (included) and then hop on board the Asheville Trolley for a private narrated tour. It’ll end at The River Arts District, where you can explore the working studios and galleries of hundreds of artists on your own and then return to the hotel whenever you’d like.
Monday, April 7
The Biltmore Estate. A highlight of the tour, the entire day will be spent here. Completed in 1895 for George Washington Vanderbilt II as his “Little Mountain Escape,” this home, the largest privately owned home in the United States, is almost 180,000-square-feet in size. Using an audio-guide, you’ll take a self-directed tour of the house, followed by a guided Backstairs Tour. Of course there will be time to wander through the vast gardens (their program “Biltmore Blooms” begins on April 1st), both formal & informal, as well as the Conservatory. Lunch and a complementary wine tasting will happen at Antler Hill, a village on the estate that originally was a residential and work area for estate employees. Back at our hotel, dinner will be included this evening.
Tuesday, April 8
The Blue Ridge Mountains. Another highlight of the tour, and the next two days will be spent there. Today will start with a visit to the Folk Art Center, opened in 1980, and full of shops, displays, exhibits, and demonstrations by numerous craftspeople. This is the headquarters of the Southern Highland Craft Guild and members must be approved by a jury. Following your visit, stop for lunch of local cuisine (included), before moving on to the North Carolina Arboretum. After enjoying their gardens the bus will head to Dupont State Forest. Here you’ll get close to nature in the mountains by going on a 2.2-mile-roundtrip easy hike to see three waterfalls. You may want to bring your hiking sticks for ease of walking through the forest.
Wednesday, April 9
On your last full day in this part of the country, begin at the Blue Ridge Parkway National Park Visitor Center, enjoying the exhibits before taking a 1.4-mile-roundtrip easy hike behind it on a user-friendly nature trail. Back on the bus, after a stop for lunch, you’ll arrive at the Pisgah National Forest, where a 2.0-mile hike will take you past the remains of George Washington Vanderbilt II’s Buck Spring Lodge (another mountain retreat) and provide fabulous views of Mount Pisgah and the valley below. A Farewell Dinner is included tonight, to share stories and memories with your fellow travelers, now friends.
Thursday, April 10
After breakfast this morning, load your luggage on the bus and travel back to Charlotte International Airport (CLT) for your flight back home. Thank you for traveling with the Minnesota Landscape Arboretum!