The first steam engine puffed up the Saluda Grade to the Hendersonville Depot in 1879. The steam engine needed a “help engine” attached to the rear of the train at Melrose for additional power to push the train up the Saluda Mountain Grade, the steepest main-line standard gauge railroad in the United States. The Carolina Special ran between Charleston, South Carolina and Cincinnati, Ohio from 1911 until 1968. The restored Depot houses a HO scale railroad layout that is highly detailed and is prototypical of Hendersonville, Saluda, Asheville, and Western North Carolina. The Deport features historical artifacts, a Southern Railway cabooser and a special children’s exhibit where they can operate a Thomas the Tank train in a scenic layout. See the 10ft x 80 ft Garden “G” scale layout.
The Aquarium & Shark Lab by Team ECCO is the only public aquarium in Western North Carolina. It is recognized as the first inland aquarium in North Carolina.
Carl Sandburg Home National Historic Site is where Carl Sandburg, American poet, historian, author, and lecturer spent the final 22 years of his long and productive life at his estate, Connemara. The home, originally built in 1838, displays the Sandburg’s furnishing as they lived at Connemara from 1945-1968, including Carl Sandburg’s collection of 12,000 books. Tour the home for a small fee, and learn about Sandburg’s life as a writer, journalist, folk singer, social activist and Pulitzer Prize-winning poet and biographer. Visit the barn and descendants of Mrs. Sandburg’s champion dairy goat herd and hike over five miles of trails. Access to trails, grounds, barns and public areas is free.
Open through October
The Cradle of Forestry in America is a 6,500-acre Historic Site within the Pisgah National Forest, set aside by Congress to commemorate the beginning of forestry conservation in the United States. Outdoor activities include two guided trails, which lead back in time to seven historical buildings, including a 1915 Climax locomotive and an old sawmill.
You can call the Cradle of Forestry during their normal business hours at 828-877-3130, or when they are closed, please call the Pisgah Ranger Station at 828-877-3265.
The Flat Rock Playhouse has presented hundreds of productions for over eighty years. The Playhouse offers quality entertainment rarely found so far from Broadway. The Vagabond Players perform a variety of hits each year from comedy, American classics, musicals, farces and whodunits. The Playhouse features professional actors from across the country in major productions such as Mamma Mia, West Side Story, South Pacific and more. The Playhouse is open mid-April through mid-October, plus a holiday production, presenting matinees and evening performances Wednesday through Sunday.
Hands On! Children’s Museum is a children’s museum located on Main Street in Hendersonville – it’s the place where LEARNING comes into PLAY. Hands On! provides educational exhibits that stimulate the imagination and motivate learning. It is an affordable, educational and fun way to spend the day with your children, grandchildren, and students ages 1 – 10. Hands On! is open Tuesday – Saturday from 10:00am – 5:00pm. Admission charged.
The Hendersonville Community Theatre, Inc. is a non-profit, non-professional, volunteer based organization of theater-lovers, was formed in 1966. The theater was known as the Hendersonville Little Theatre for more than 50 years. The season runs from May through early-November and special events during the off-season. Tickets are available for a single show or season tickets.
The Cultural Center of Historic Flat Rock is a museum and cultural center located in the “Old Flat Rock Post Office” building, operated by Historic Flat Rock, Inc. The Center houses Flat Rock artifacts and original furniture from the post office as well as antique furniture manufactured in Flat Rock. It is operated by Historic Flat Rock, Inc.
Historic Johnson Farm is a fine example of a late 19th and early 20th-century farm & tourist retreat. The entire structure was handmade from bricks that were fired on-site from French Broad River mud. Over the years many outbuildings were constructed, including a tool shed/blacksmith shop, barn, boarding house, and a cottage. The property offers historic home tours, nature trails, picnic tables, animals, and 10 historic structures on 15 acres filled with trees in a natural setting. Guided tours of the historic house are available Monday-Friday, call for times.
The Heritage Weavers and Fiber Artists have transformed the boarding house into a fiber arts center, which includes weaving, rug hooking, bobbin lace, spinning, or knitting.
A 25,000 sq. ft. indoor sports and family entertainment facility that has, trampoline courts, dodge ball, basketball, an arcade, a climbing wall, foam pits, a ninja course, toddler time and much more!
Open Tuesday – Sunday.
The Mineral & Lapidary Museum features the natural beauty of minerals, gems, fossils and artifacts found in North Carolina, in the United States and around the world. Displays include North Carolina minerals, dinosaur egg cluster, English minerals, fluorescent minerals, geodes, petrified wood & large logs, coral, artfully crafted jewelry, gem stones, Cullinan Diamond replicas and a Henderson County Meteorite, on loan from the Smithsonian, are featured displays. Gift shop is open daily. Geode cracking. Free admission!
An indoor play, jungle gym and party center
Hours:
Pisgah Center for Wildlife Education is located in Pisgah National Forest. The Center’s indoor and outdoor attractions include: aquariums, hands-on exhibits, garden display, special programs, viewing and feeding of the hatchery trout. Free admission.
Open year-round:
December – March: Open Monday – Friday 8 am – 4:45 pm
April – November: Open Monday – Saturday 8 am – 4:45 pm
Sky Zone is fun for the whole family, with open trampolines, foam pits, climbing walls, jousting, dodgeball, a ninja warrior course, pace for birthday parties, trampoline workout classes, special family and glow in the dark nights, and a toddler zone for the littles.
The Center for Art & Entertainment offers interactive dinner murder mysteries, touring shows, repertory theatre, tribute music series, storytelling events, classes, and more. The Center is also home of The Artful Cup coffee shop and the Hendersonville location of Malaprop Books. The Artful Cup and Malaprop Books are open Tuesday – Sunday.
Check their website for info on hours, shows, showtimes, classes, etc.
The Thomas Wolfe Memorial State Historic Site is the childhood home of author, Thomas Wolfe. Wolfe immortalized his childhood home in his epic autobiographical novel, Look Homeward, Angel. This historic site is devoted to interpreting the life, literature and times of Thomas Wolfe through the use of his mother’s boardinghouse and Look Homeward, Angel. Located 25 miles north of Hendersonville in downtown Asheville.
Hendersonville’s Oakdale Cemetery is the location of the statue that Thomas Wolfe made famous in his epic autobiographical novel, Look Homeward Angel.
Open Tuesday – Saturday. House tours are offered daily at half past each hour for a small fee. Group tours available by reservation.
Axe throwing is similar to a combination of darts and bowling. It is an indoor recreational range set up like a bowling alley with a bullseye target at the end of the lane. The lanes are divided by steel fencing with rubberized floors. Great fun for groups.
