Just over four hours from Nashville there is a treasure trove for the nature lover and leisure seeker alike. We recently took a three night trip to Madison County in North Carolina, known for its 55,000+ acres of National Forest, scenic French Broad River, and proximity to Asheville. We enjoyed it so much, we felt inclined to share with you some tips: what to do, where to stay and eat, and what we will be sure not to miss next time!

First, what we were looking for in this trip… The mountains were calling, but we did not want to take a long trip out west. So we were drawn to the Smokies, but we didn’t want the kitsch of Gatlinburg. Plus, dogs are not allowed in Great Smoky Mountains National Park, and we were traveling with Rosie in tow. So we zeroed in on the National Forests surrounding the Smoky Mountains and found a really cute house in Marshall, NC!

We love to take highway over interstate any chance we get, but we wanted to make time. Still, at the first sight of traffic in Knoxville, we jumped off I-40 and instead followed US-25/US-70 which follows right along the same route as the interstate. Did it add some time? Sure. But it was worth it!

I think it only added about 20 minutes to the drive, but we were deeply engrossed in a podcast (the Polybius Conspiracy, so good!) so we didn’t pay much attention to the time…

The house we rented was in Marshall, but situated a little bit closer to downtown Hot Springs, and approaching from the west we passed through Hot Springs first. Hot Springs is on the Appalachian Trail (literally, the sidewalk is stamped with the AT logo) and I imagine it becomes a long term pit stop for many a through hiker, because it is a great spot. Named Hot Springs for… you guessed it! The town has natural geothermal mineral hot springs, which from my research are the closest to Nashville. If you know me well, you are not surprised that I have mapped the closest hot springs to my location at any given time. The second closest is in Arkansas and will surely be the subject of a future post!

I had lost service on my phone, so planned to look up dinner options once we settled in to the house and logged onto WiFi. Only, Chris had read the house manual closer than I had, and informed me there was no WiFi at the house. So we took note of what was open and drove on through to check in to the house. Maybe this is not for everyone, but it was amazing to stay somewhere with no cell service and no WiFi. It is the same way when we go to Baxter State Park and it is really nice to be forced to turn it all off once in a while!

The house is nestled in a valley on a bend of the Laurel River. Aptly named, Riverbend Cottage, it is actually on the Laurel River Trail, a 3.6 mile out and back that follows the Laurel from Hwy 25 to the French Broad River.

The setting is beautiful, and there is a nice big screened porch that we will be back to enjoy in warmer weather! Access to hiking and fishing couldn’t be better, literally in your front and back yards. You can book the house here and mention in the comments that you read about it on The Notions Journey for a discount on your stay!

For dinner we went to the The Iron Horse Station in Hot Springs, which offers free WiFi so you can check in with the outside world, and is also a hotel with 15 guest rooms. We shared the soup of the night (ham and bean) which we agreed was very good but maybe hard to eat a whole bowl, unless we had been on the Appalachian Trail all day! Chris got the special, trout with green beans and a baked potato. I went with the ribs, fries and collard greens. We were not disappointed; it was all delicious! They have local beer on tap and this evening had a musician playing a great selection of covers, ranging from Grateful Dead to Johnny Cash.

Later during our trip we had lunch at the Iron Horse Station. I had the black bean burger and fries, Chris had spring rolls. Again, we were both really happy with our meals. We were definitely impressed with the range of different dishes that they did well!

After dinner we settled back into Riverbend Cottage. We did watch one movie while we were there, but mainly we read, I sketched and crocheted… what a novel idea, without WiFi we just straight chilled!

The next morning I read Lost on a Mountain in Maine cover to cover, then we hiked around with Rosie for a while.

Rosie was having a blast, wading around in the Laurel River despite the frigid temperatures, when she realized we were on a trail (the smells, oh the smells!). She loves trails… loves following them and loves bossing around anyone that happens to be on “her” trail (we are working on it). So once she realized the hiking highway that was our front yard, we had to keep her leashed for most of the rest of our stay. We saw a handful of hikers, but it did not detract from our secluded retreat vibes.

After our hike, we loaded into the van and headed towards Asheville, stopping in downtown Marshall on the way just to check it out. We were so pleasantly surprised by Marshall!

We found Zuma Coffee, a great spot with tons of natural light streaming in huge windows looking out over the historic downtown.

The staff was friendly and it was the kind of place you could settle in for hours, reading or drawing.

Over the course of our trip we would go back to Marshall twice. We enjoyed beers at Madison County Brewing and had dinner at The Sweet Monkey Cafe and Bakery which despite its name had a full menu ranging from pizza to beef Wellington. We went with the Sassy Pants pizza and were not disappointed!

We love Asheville! That said, I could do this whole trip over again, never set foot in Asheville, and be happy. Nonetheless we did go into Asheville for brunch after pulling ourselves from Marshall.

We had not planned this trip out so much as to have a brunch spot picked out, so we just drove straight into downtown Asheville looking for a place to eat… and then we drove right out of downtown Asheville still looking for a place to eat… Much like Nashville, everyone in town seemed to be having the same idea about brunch, so everywhere I looked had a wait, and since we had found our way over to the area surrounding the Biltmore we decided why not check it out? There are several restaurants at the Biltmore so we made a reservation and headed that way.

The Biltmore was an exercise in patience. The box office was packed! And they sold out of house tours for the day so we had to settle for grounds only tickets. Next time we will plan ahead better… Buy tickets in advance to see the inside of this magnificent manor, and get an earlier start. But considering that we had Rosie with us this time, and would have to rush through the house to get back to her anyway, it really couldn’t have turned out better! They allow dogs on the grounds, so it was fun to be able to walk around with Rosie.

The stop-and-go (mostly stop) traffic from the box office to the house was made more stressful by our empty gas tank. Regardless, the grounds are incredible and should be absorbed at a slow pace. The Vanderbilts hired Frederick Law Olmsted, the landscape architect behind New York’s Central Park. The gardens stand out, but the forest grounds really impress. Olmsted went to work cleaning up the existing woods of fallen or damaged trees and planted 300 acres of depleted farm and timber land with white pine. He enlisted German forester Carl Schenck to manage the thousands of acres surrounding the house. Schenck earned it the name “America’s first forest”, laying the framework for what would become Pisgah National Forest, the first National Forest established from privately held land.

We saw a few other dogs on the grounds, but not many, and we took turns checking out the greenhouse, not because anyone had turned Rosie away, but because she is too damn big to maneuver around in there! We each took a lap, checked out the poinsettias, orchids, palm trees, and other tropical beauties, while the other walked Rose in the Rose Garden.

We enjoyed a beautiful sunset before moving along.

Asheville has an abundance of breweries and we wanted to check one out while we were there, settling on Wicked Weed. They were crowded, we had Rosie, and it was cold outside, but regardless the beer was delicious! On the front patio, there is a table with a fireplace in it, and we would have made friendly with the people occupying it, but it was already packed, so we didn’t stay as long as we would have otherwise. Years ago, we went to Wicked Weed and hung out in the downstairs tasting room. It has great character and the vibes were on point! So it remains on the list to revisit again some day.

On our last full day we finally made it to the hot springs. We have already agreed that when we recreate this trip we will definitely go to the hot springs twice. Or three times. Or pretty much as many times as we can comfortably fit it in!

I had scheduled a massage at the Hot Springs Resort & Spa with the last of my cell service in Asheville, followed by an hour long soak in the hot springs.

Among the list of healing minerals in their water are Sulfate of Potassium for heart and digestion, Sulfate of Lime for bone and tooth structure, and Sulfate of Magnesia for muscle activity. The water is naturally, geothermally heated to between 99 and 102 degrees and then pumped into private hot tubs lining Spring Creek.

Jannette gave the best massage I’ve had in a long time while entertaining me with a history lesson on the area. Afterwards, Chris and I soaked in the hot springs for an hour. We agreed next time we would go with two hours but I was so completely relaxed I was afraid of falling asleep in the tub as it was!

More cottage and chill time later, and just like that it was the final morning. Of course we had to go to Zuma Coffee in Marshall one more time to get breakfast and coffee for the road.

We have a thing about backtracking. Going through Marshall on our way back to Nashville meant we would have to drive US-25 through Hot Springs again, but we had already taken that road five times! Instead, we added 40 minutes to our ride home by hitting I-40 in Fines Creek. By doing so we went through Trust and Luck, enjoyed beautiful views, and crossed over a mountain pass with steep, hairpin turns.

As our scenic route came to an end, we found ourselves on Max Patch road. Oh how tempting it was to extend our trip just a couple more hours and check it out! Neither of us have been, but have several friends who have, so we know the 360-degree views from the top are not to be missed. Well, we missed it. We had a friend in Nashville for just one night and we wanted to get back to see him. Ironically, this friend has through-hiked the Appalachian Trail and chided us for skipping Max Patch. Next time we visit the area we will definitely set back some time to go! We also want to check out Mountain Magnolia Inn, Suites & Restaurant, a fully restored 1868 Victorian home turned full service inn and restaurant.

Speaking of next time, I would like to say we will stay one more night so we can spend two days at the hot springs, tour the inside of the Biltmore, and check out Max Patch. But at just over four hours from Nashville, it may be more likely that we go back for two nights some weekend soon and soak up the relaxation!

Have you been to Madison County, NC? If so, what are your favorite spots? And if not, are you planning to go now? Comment below, we love to hear from you!