On September 27, 2024, Hurricane Helene brought 100-mile per hour winds to the mountains of Western North Carolina and dropped up to 30 inches of rain. The devastation was swift and heartbreaking and resulted in one of the worst natural disasters in the area’s history.
The mountain communities situated along the French Broad River, such as Asheville, Hot Springs, and Marshall, saw devastating floods, while Pisgah National Forest lost an estimated 100,000 acres of trees from a combination of high winds and an overly saturated forest floor. More than 100 people lost their lives in North Carolina and countless others lost their homes and businesses. For the last twenty years, Asheville has been home, and I covered Helene from my perspective during the immediate aftermath of the storm,
News of Helene’s destruction dominated the news cycle at the time, but the story of the region’s recovery, which began immediately after the rain and wind stopped, has gone largely unnoticed.
A year has passed and the communities that survived the destruction have been working tirelessly to rebuild. It started with carving paths through the downfall on city streets and has been ongoing with debris removal, building restoration, and trail reconstruction. I’m amazed by the progress that’s been made the past year. More than 85 percent of Asheville’s hospitality businesses have reopened. In Pisgah National Forest, hundreds of miles of trails are ready for bikers and hikers, and sections of the Blue Ridge Parkway have been restored.
The recovery isn’t complete though. You can still see scars from Helene. A number of businesses are still shattered. In Asheville, parts of the popular River Arts District are still vacant. In the smaller towns of Marshall and Hot Springs, some buildings remain empty as reconstruction moves forward. Sections of the Blue Ridge Parkway are still closed, and some recreation areas in Pisgah National Forest still need significant restoration work before they can be safely explored.
But we’ve come so far in a year, and the towns (and the mountains surrounding them) are safe and open for visitors again. As fall approaches, along with the year anniversary of the worst natural disaster to hit the area, it’s time to come back and see the recovery story for yourself.
Consider this a local’s guide to adventuring in and around Asheville and the surrounding mountains one year after Hurricane Helene.
Asheville
If you walk through downtown Asheville today, you’d never know a powerful storm ripped through the community a year prior. Downtown was mostly unscathed, but the River Arts District, just west of downtown on the banks of the French Broad River, was hit hard. Flood waters rose to 20 feet above the French Broad’s typical level, pushing the river into breweries, restaurants, and studios that made up the popular entertainment district. Many of the buildings are still vacant or have been demolished entirely. But there is a resurgence of businesses in that district, from artists occupying studios again to breweries re-opening in their former locations.
Here are a handful of spots you should check out:
Hi-Wire Brewing
Hi-Wire Brewing has reopened its River Arts District beer garden after being closed for eight months after the storm. The location was more than just a beer garden, it was the brewery’s headquarters and distribution center. Hi-Wire lost 100 percent of its packaging inventory and 80 percent of its finished beer in the flood. The newly restored space is loaded with murals and games and has 24 different beers on tap. Their Lo-Pitch Hazy IPA is my top choice.
Wrong Way River Lodge
Wrong Way River Lodge has A-frame cabins on stilts on the bank of the French Broad. They saw water levels rise to their front row of cabins, and submerge the bottom floor of their lodge, but the entire property has been fully restored (from $223 a night).
The Bull and Beggar
The Bull and Beggar has been a staple of Asheville’s culinary scene for more than a decade, but the building took in almost two feet of water during the storm and had to be completely renovated. It reopened in January 2025 and is back to serving the best steak frites in town. Too fancy? Their sister location, Baby Bull, makes what I believe to be the best burger in town.
The Next Phase
The next phase of recovery in the River Arts District is just as exciting. The Marquee, a 50,000-square foot bazaar that housed the studios and galleries for more than 300 artists, is set to re-open this fall with the majority of its artists returning. Cultivate Climbing was just a few weeks away from opening a 13,000-square foot bouldering gym and cafe on Foundy Street before the flood hit. The company is on schedule to open that new climbing gym in the Foundy this fall. And Wedge Brewing should open their popular Wedge Foundation, which was one of my favorite places to drink a beer outside, this fall as well.
Pisgah National Forest
Asheville is flanked by the 500,000-acre Pisgah National Forest, which was hit hard by Helene. There was damage to roughly 850 miles of trail and 30 percent of the forest’s road beds.
Bent Creek Experimental Forest
Bent Creek Experimental Forest, which sits in the Pisgah Ranger District, is the closest section of Pisgah National Forest to downtown Asheville, and has more than 20 miles of trail that locals and visitors flock to for mountain bike rides and trail runs. Bent Creek experienced flooding and heavy winds, and lost a number of trees, but local volunteers were able to clear the damage quickly after the storm. The forest started reopening to visitors at the end of October 2024. Green’s Lick, which has a two-mile, technical downhill, is the signature trail, but I like Lower Sidehill, which doesn’t get as much attention but has plenty of flow and cruisy benchcut singletrack.
Grandfather Ranger District
While the Pisgah Ranger District endured its share of destruction, Helene did the most damage in the Grandfather Ranger District of Pisgah east of Asheville. The tall, steep mountains that rise to 6,000 feet in elevation in the Grandfather District saw triple digit winds and some of the heaviest rainfall of the storm with hundreds of miles of trail and road destroyed. Forest Service staff and volunteers have been working tirelessly, restoring access to more than 250 miles of trail within the Grandfather District.
Mountain bikers in particular should be excited by this, as the Gateway Trail System, just outside of downtown Old Fort, is now open with a new parking area. Bikers now have full access to this 14-mile trail system that emphasizes flow and fun. Gateway is designed for hammering fast laps, with a gravel road climbing to the top of a ridge that provides access to the downhill singletrack. If you want a taste of old school Pisgah singletrack within the Grandfather District, you need to ride Kitsuma, which is at the heart of a 10-mile loop between the towns of Old Fort and Black Mountain, and features a monstrous switchback climb preceding a fast, technical downhill through a thick forest canopy. It’s a classic for a reason.
Old Fort
Regardless of which trail you ride, be sure to drop into downtown Old Fort after your adventure. Old Fort is a town of 800 that was leaning heavily into outdoor recreation as an economic anchor before Hurricane Helene hit. The storm damaged more than just the trails within the national forest; it sent a flood surge through downtown that destroyed more than 40 buildings and homes. The town is scrappy though, and working hard to rebuild. Grab food and beer from the town’s social anchor, Hillman Beer, which had flood waters four-feet deep inside its building.
The Blue Ridge Parkway
The Blue Ridge Parkway is a 469-mile long two-lane highway that runs through the mountains of North Carolina and Virginia, connecting Great Smoky Mountains National Park with Shenandoah National Park. It is the most visited unit of the National Park System with more than 17 million visitors each year. The Parkway wraps around Asheville connecting the town with the tallest peaks in the Eastern U.S., but the road is more than a scenic drive. Hundreds of trailheads are scattered along the corridor, and cyclists flock to the blacktop in droves for the scenic pedaling and tough climbs.
Helene brought heavy winds and rain that caused landslides and eroded sections of pavement both south and north of Asheville. The Parkway north of Asheville, from mile marker 377 to 333 is still closed, which means there’s no access to Mount Mitchell State Park. But the National Park Service has been working hard to reopen the impacted sections of the Parkway, the most exciting of which (to those of us who are Asheville locals) is the 38-mile section of road from Asheville south to milepost 420, which gives hikers and cyclists access to two popular destinations: Graveyard Fields and Black Balsam.
Graveyard Fields, at milepost 418, is a mile-high valley with a popular trail system that accesses waterfalls and swimming holes along the Yellowstone Prong. The mile-long Graveyard Loop Trail offers a quick tour of the goods, but climb the 1.5-mile Upper Falls Trail for the best chance of solitude and an up-close look at the 40-foot falls.
At milepost 420, you’ll find access to Black Balsam Knob, a 6,214-foot tall grassy bald with 360-degree views of the surrounding forest. You can also trek up the popular Art Loeb Trail, which runs for 29 miles through Pisgah National Forest, and has short loops or epic multi-day hikes.
The French Broad River
The French Broad River runs for 146 miles from the small town of Rosman to Newport Tennessee. In recent years, the French Broad has evolved from a source of industry, with paper mills and coal plants along its corridor, to more of a source of recreation. The non-profit, Mountain True, developed a Paddle Trail with established campsites from its headwaters to its tailwaters.
Thousands of people tubed and paddled several miles of the river through the River Arts District every day this summer. Helene caused significant damage and essentially shut the river down for months as thousands of pounds of debris, from PVC pipe to tractor trailers, were deposited into the river from the storm. But Mountain True and the Army Corps of Engineers have been working tirelessly and the majority of the river is open again for recreation, with a number of put-ins and takeouts fully restored.
Boaters looking for some excitement should head to Section 9 of the French Broad, which runs for eight miles from the town of Marshall to Hot Springs, offering the best whitewater on the entire river. While Helene caused its fair share of damage to the river corridor, the rapids on this stretch are largely the same as before the storm. I had the chance to run a rafting trip on Section 9 earlier in the summer, and was so happy to see the character of the whitewater had not been changed. The run is highlighted by class III waves and a couple of big class IV rapids, the most famous of which is Frank Bells, a river-wide ledge with several different routes depending on how crazy you want to get. Blue Heron Whitewater runs half day and full day trips on Section 9 (from $59 per person).
The towns of Marshall and Hot Springs both sit directly on the French Broad River and both were devastated by the storm. After the flood waters receded, Marshall was left with several feet of mud to contend with, while the storm surge ripped through the sides of certain buildings in Hot Springs. But both communities are coming back strong, each with businesses that are open and eager for visitors.
In Marshall, grab a beer and pizza at Mad Co. Brew House on Main Street. In Hot Springs, Big Pillow Brewing serves tacos and great beer in its beer garden. If you’re looking to camp, grab a site at Hot Springs Resort, which has tent sites overlooking the French Broad within walking distance of downtown Hot Springs (from $45 per site).
Graham Averill is Outside magazine’s national parks columnist. He’s lived in Asheville for more than 20 years, and has personally seen the town flood twice in that time. He recently wrote about the best tubing spots in the country.
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