Iconic parks and public spaces around the world fill photo and video sharing platforms like Instagram, Flickr, and Pinterest. People share things that make them feel good and project their beliefs and personality.
While you may share a sparkling city view or ocean sunset while on vacation, Asheville’s public parks and trails offer unique art and stunning natural beauty certain to perk up your feed and generate likes. Check out suggestions below and explore all Asheville Parks & Recreation spaces on the City of Asheville’s website.
Wilma Dykeman Greenway, 192 Riverside Drive
Named for an Asheville native who inspired a social, environmental, and economic vision to protect the French Broad River, Wilma Dykeman Greenway houses several pieces of public art including a massive yellow cog at the gateway to the River Arts District and a bridge adorned with “All Feet Stand Under the Stars,” a quote from Hood Huggers International founder DeWayne Barton. Steps away from the greenway, the Stay Weird tower, several murals on artists’ buildings, and the city’s iconic chimney from an old ice house can be found.
Pack Square Park, 80 Court Plaza
Surrounded by Asheville’s vibrant downtown filled with cafés, museums, and galleries, Pack Square Park’s popular photo stops include Asheville Sister Cities’ Signpost, the Splasheville interactive fountain, multiple Urban Trail sculptural stations, and Bascom Lamar Lundsford stage stunningly framed by City Hall and Buncombe County Courthouse featuring a large canopy, stone and tile work from local craftworkers, and a stainless steel pergola echoing outlines of mountains on the horizon.
Triangle Park, 58 South Market Street
Just steps away from Pack Square, Triangle Park features colorful murals transporting visitors through decades of Black life in Asheville. Located within The Block, it also offers an opportunity to explore the city’s historic Black business district.
Pritchard Park, 67 Patton Avenue
Also located downtown, Pritchard Park showcases a classic brick amphitheater, granite chess boards, and Deco Gecko, a whimsical piece of art celebrating the art deco motifs found around the park. Just up the street, the Love Asheville mural decorates the outdoor wall across from Harrah’s Cherokee Center – Asheville on 68 Haywood Street, also known as The Pit of Opportunity. Keep traveling on Flint Street into Montford to catch skateboarding, skating, and biking amongst an expansive mural at Asheville Skatepark.
E.W. Grove Park, 338 Charlotte Street
At the intersection of Macon Avenue and Charlotte Street, E.W. Grove Park is a rolling lawn with covered trolley stops and a stone wall designed by Chauncey Delos Beadle. E.W. Grove’s original office can be found on the southeast corner of the park. It is the only building designed by Richard Sharp Smith in a style that features fieldstone with beaded mortar joints and a tin shingled roof. If you’re in the neighborhood during spring or summer, check out the brilliant blooms in Griffing Boulevard Rose Garden.
Murphy-Oakley Park, 715 Fairview Road
While you can bathe in the Blue Ridge Mountains’ natural beauty from many of Asheville’s parks and trails, few offer the spectacular view found at the pickleball and tennis courts in Murphy-Oakley Park.
Riverside Cemetery, 53 Birch Street
As a garden-style cemetery serving as a public park and the final resting place of some of Asheville’s famous residents, visitors to Riverside Cemetery often find O. Henry’s grave covered in pennies as a tribute to The Gift of the Magi and “I Voted” stickers on the monument for Lillian Exum Clement Stafford, the first female attorney in the state of North Carolina to own a practice with no male partners. The most visited site is the grave of Thomas Wolfe, son of a monument mason who spent many hours in the cemetery and later wrote about Riverside in his novels Look Homeward Angel and You Can’t Go Home Again. The gravesite of well-known midwife Tempie Avery overlooks her former home in Stumptown which is now a recreation complex named in her honor with a community center, large playground, and Hazel Robinson Amphitheater.
Once you visit these seven parks, head to the Urban Trail for popular photo spots like Crossroads, Flat Iron Architecture, Appalachian Stage, and The Block. Other unique spaces like Carrier Park’s velodrome, the bleachery gates at Riverbend Park, and river views in French Broad River Park leave plenty to explore and share through your photos and videos.
If you end up with shots you’re proud of, tag Asheville Parks & Recreation on Instagram and Facebook.