How to Find the Best Asheville, NC, Bike Tours & Paths
- Updated: 12/28/2024
- Janice
When visiting a new town, I love exploring with a guided tour. And ideally, one two wheels. The reason—it is easier to cover more ground on a bike. When pedaling at leisure, pausing at the good spots, I get an idea of the places I want to revisit.
That is why on a recent Asheville group ladies’ trip, I signed up with two friends for a three-hour e-bike tour. With its location in the Blue Ridge Mountain area, Asheville has a lot of hills. So, I valued being able to rely on the electric thrust on my e-bike get up hills instead of my own sweaty effort. I share a review of the tour we took with The Flying Bike below. Then, I provide information on more biking tours, self-guided biking options, and trails you can find around the Asheville area, as well as where to rent a bike.
Table Of Contents
The Flying Bike: Downtown Asheville Electric Bike Tour Review
On an Asheville ladies’ trip, and within a few hours of arrival, two friends and I drove five minutes from lunch at the Laughing Seed Cafe in downtown Asheville to The Flying Bike. This tour company, owned by friends of a friend—is where we caught the start of our three-hour Downtown Asheville Electric Bike group tour.
Once we pulled into The Flying Bike’s gravel lot and checked into their open-air garage-style office, we joined our guide, Anna, a local mom passionate about biking. On a Thursday afternoon in June, our tour had only four riders—the three of us and a professor from Tennessee in town for the weekend. Anna fit our small group with bikes and helmets, encouraged introductions. Then, she trained us on how to use the bikes.
Anna had us practice maneuvering the bikes (e-bikes are heavier than you might think) in an elongated figure-eight loop. After we established competence, we practiced using the thrust. The thrust provides an essential speed boost needed to get up Asheville’s hills, especially from a standing position at stop signs and lights.
Before this tour, I had been on an e-bike once in Rome on flat paths. So, figuring out how to manage the bike on hills initially felt awkward. Though, I quickly got the hang of it, finding it straightforward to follow Anna throughout the tour. Anna called out which speed to use, and when to bump the thrust to make the bike do all the hard work.
In addition to leading us safely, Anna stopped us along our route to share detailed information about surrounding Asheville landmarks. Her mini talks, aided by printed photos, gave us a better understanding of the history of Asheville and an overall excellent experience. Check out the map below to view our route and see where we went.
How to use this map: In the map header, click the square tab to the left of my logo or the “enlarge frame” button to the right to view details. You can save the map to “Your Places” on Google Maps by clicking the star next to the map name or share it by clicking the share icon.
Tour Highlights
A few of our tour highlights included stops or bike-throughs at:
- Historic Wall Street
- The Grove Arcade
- Basilica of Saint Lawrence
- Botanical Gardens of Asheville
- The Grove Park Inn
- Pack Square Park
My favorite part of the tour was our bike up to—and stop at the historic century-old Grove Park Inn. The inn is a celebrated mountaintop resort with a distinctive red roof, massive stone exterior, and an intriguing history. Founded by E.W. Grove, who made his fortune selling a palatable quinine-based tonic to treat malaria, of which his first wife and daughter died.
The inn also offers sweeping views from its multi-level back verandas and an impressive and cavernous stone great hall that doubles as a reception area and lounge bookended by two formidable oversize fireplaces. It also provides a nice stop for a bathroom break and a snack in the middle of a bike tour.
The Flying Bike Tour Video
Going on this bike tour provided me with my first opportunity to strap on my GoPro action camera to my new chest harness to record the action. Luckily, since this was an ladies’ trip, my mortified 12-year-old daughter was not there to witness and comment on my hardware set-up. Check out my YouTube video capturing footage from our ride and showcasing the best of our tour below.
Is This Tour Good for Kids or Tentative Adults?
For adults thinking about this bike tour for kids—depending on the age of your children, you may need to reconsider. The legal age to operate an e-bike in North Carolina is 16. And any riders under 18 must be accompanied by an adult. Additionally, due to significant street biking and repeated ascents and descents, the tour is best suited for teens who are solid riders.
However, The Flying Bike does permit parents to take along kids ages one through 15 as a passenger on the back of their cargo e-bikes. See the Flying Bike FAQ page for more information. If your kids do not mind hitching a ride, this option could work for you.
For tentative adult riders on the fence about whether to book this bike tour—I am an infrequent and not confident, though enthusiastic, recreational biker, and I loved it. I felt entirely safe following Anna’s careful lead. And luckily, when you book a tour, your satisfaction and safety are guaranteed. The Flying Bike also offers a full refund if—after completing a short practice on your e-bike—you are still uncomfortable and not ready to ride. Refer to the Flying Bike FAQ page for more detail.
Additional Asheville Bike Tour Options
I share bike tour options from four highly-rated Asheville area activity operators below.
The Flying Bike
The Flying Bike offers two additional tour options—and I would do either. Visit their website for more information on the Downtown Asheville Electric Bike Tour With Tastings, essentially a similar guided tour to the one I took and shared above, but with food, including authentic North Carolina BBQ and handcrafted chocolate. Or try their slightly longer—in terms of mileage—West Asheville River Arts Electric Bike Tour. See 800+ guest reviews and book a tour on Viator (downtown e-bike tour only). Or book via The Flying Bike website.
Asheville Adventure Company
Asheville Adventure Company, known for its whitewater rafting, tubing, and kayaking tours, also offers several guided e-bike tour options. Tours include its Sunset Tour, Tour in the Mountains and its boozy and well-loved E-Bike Brewery Crawl.
See up-to-date guest reviews and book an Asheville Adventures e-bike tour on Viator: the Sunset Tour, the Tour in the Mountains, or the Brewery Bike Crawl. Or book via the Asheville Adventure Company website.
Pisgah Mountain Bike Adventures
For the more adventurous off-roaders, get in touch with Pisgah Mountain Bike Adventures to book a private half-day or full-day guided mountain bike tour through the Pisgah National Forest and DuPont State Recreational Forest for up to six guests. They will customize the route to the ability level of your group. Check out their website for more information and rates.
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Pisgah Day Ventures
If your desire to explore takes you out of town, consider booking a group bike trip with Asheville-based Pisgah Day Ventures. Choose from one of three group e-bike tours, exploring the nearby North Carolina towns of Black Mountain, Brevard, or Hot Springs.
Self-Guided Biking & Paths
Unlike other outdoor-loving cities, Asheville does not have an extensive network of connected and dedicated paved biking paths. Instead, you will find several smaller segments that you can patch together with a mix of street biking. Or you can travel to nearby private or public dedicated greenways to expand your choices.If you are not sure where to go, get a helping hand from the information below
The Biltmore
Biking here at the Biltmore tops my list for the activity I want to do most on my next Asheville visit. The Biltmore grounds offer 20 miles of trails—varying from single dirt tracks to more gentle paved paths. When biking at the Biltmore, you can bring your bike or rent one from their on-site Bike Barn with no reservations required.
Guests staying at Biltmore hotel properties receive complimentary access to Biltmore grounds. Day visitors not staying at Biltmore properties, and who do not have an annual Biltmore pass, must purchase a one-day Gardens & Grounds ticket. Visit the Biltmore website for more ticketing information.
Additionally, if you prefer to have storytelling with your cycling, try a guided Biltmore bike tour. Expect to learn about the natural history of the grounds, as well as the background of the Vanderbilt family. Visit the Biltmore website for more information about the tour and how to book it.
Kolo Bike Park
For the thrill seekers and shredders who want to stay close to town, check out the Kolo Bike Park, part of the Asheville Adventure Center complex offering zip lining and a mountain biking circuit within five minutes of downtown Asheville. Enjoy four miles of mountain bike trails plus skill-building features.
North Carolina Arboretum
Visit the North Carolina Arboretum, about a 20-minute drive from town to find a small collection of short trails offering varying difficulty and terrain. Consider pairing your pedaling here with a visit to Bent Creek Experimental Forest described below, another 20-minute drive away. Visit the Arboretum website for more information. Expect to pay a fee to park.
Bent Creek Experimental Forest
Head a little further afield from Asheville and visit the Bent Creek Experimental Forest, a 30-minute drive from town. Bent Creek features 30 miles of mountain biking tracks of varying levels.
Mapped Routes
If you would like to bike solo and do not mind mixing street biking with your greenways, book a bike rental with Asheville Adventure Company and get a “mapped route that takes you through quiet streets and gentle right turns” allowing you to explore the town as you like for a half-day or full-day.
More Dedicated Bike Paths
My favorite source for reliable biking trail information is the non-profit website and app, TrailLink, run by the Rails-to-Trails Conservancy. Discover a list of bike paths, either asphalt or dirt, in and around the Asheville region on this page, which includes user reviews and up-to-date information.
A few highlights include these routes.
- French Broad River Greenway. A 3.5-mile paved asphalt path that links three Asheville parks.
- Catawba River Greenway. A 3.8-mile paved asphalt path meandering through forested areas and the small town of Morganton.
- Thermal Belt Rail-Trail. This 13.5-mile paved asphalt path, just over an hour’s drive from Asheville, links three small North Carolina towns.
- Brevard Bike Path. A 5-mile paved asphalt path, also about an hour’s drive from Asheville, leads into the Pisgah National Forest.
Multi-Day Bike Trips
If you love the idea of exploring the Asheville region by bike, consider checking out these guided tours by TrekTravel.
5 Places to Rent Your Bike
Check out these five options for where to rent a bike for a few hours or days while in Asheville:
Related Reading
If you are traveling to the Asheville area, check out these related articles to help you get the information you need to plan your best visit.
- You’ll Love This Asheville Girls’ Trip (4-day itinerary)
- Asheville, NC: Best Dog-Friendly Hikes & Eats
- How to Hike the Wildcat Rock Trail (30 min. from Asheville)
- Enjoy a Perfect Weekend in Greenville, SC (one hour from Asheville)
Or view my North Carolina book list, including guidebooks, biographies, histories, and fiction set in place in “The Best Books to Read Before an Asheville, NC Trip,” below.
Additional Trip Planning Resources
To further help you with travel planning, I share my go-to resources for every trip below.
Google Flights. My first research stop for affordable flights for every trip. Learn why here.
Google Hotels. Use its “Where to stay” button to discover the best neighborhoods to base your visit.
Booking.com. For hotel and rental bookings, I appreciate its flexible cancellation, candid user reviews, discounts, loyalty program, and easy-to-use interface.
Viator, Get Your Guide, & Airbnb Experiences. Quickly find and book highly-rated tours and activities on these sites.
Google Travel Things to Do & Google Maps. Find more things to do in your destination on Google Travel, then record where you want to visit on a custom Google Maps list.
AllTrails. Love to hike? Me too. I religiously use AllTrails to discover hiking and biking trails and download its offline maps to manage my hikes.
Guide Along. 5-star self-guided audio tours that are GPS-compatible for US road trips and national parks. We loved the Glacier National Park tour.
Insure My Trip. I never travel internationally without trip insurance. Learn why here. My preferred place to shop and compare policies is InsureMyTrip.com.
Plus, check out the 15 travel apps I use on trips, my preferred guidebooks, and my free customizable travel itinerary template, downloadable in four file formats.
About the author: Janice Moskoff is a travel writer and founder of Gather and Go Travel, where she inspires families, friends, and couples to explore with confidence. A lifelong adventurer, she shares her passion for hiking, outdoor adventures, and beautiful destinations through curated guides and practical tips. With an undergraduate degree from the University of Michigan’s Ross School of Business, her career spans retail strategy, event management, and textile manufacturing. Learn more about Janice and how to collaborate with her. Subscribe to her monthly Discovery Newsletter for travel tips and destination inspiration. Follow her on social media at @gatherandgotravel.
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Affiliate Disclosure: Some of the links on this page may be affiliate links, and at no additional cost to you, I earn a commission if you make a purchase. I only recommend products and companies I use. And the income goes to keeping the site community-supported and ads minimal.
Welcome to Gather and Go Travel, a blog inspiring families, adult friends, and couples to explore US and international destinations and to get outdoors. I am Janice, a world traveler to 50+ countries, a travel writer/blogger, and a book lover. Learn more about me, read our story, and how to work with me. Get my latest updates, how-tos, and trip ideas in my monthly Discovery Newsletter.
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