French Broad River Greenway West
Posted By auntie on March 21, 2020
3 miles; Asheville, NC
Lovely day for a walk. Kept my social distance from like everyone. I actually have a system for these walks… I walk to them. So my total for this day was about 4-1/4 miles. But for the purposes of the blog, I’ve only included the actual greenway track.
Bridge
This hike starts at the western end of the Smith Bridge where Craven Street crosses the French Broad River. At this point it’s a nicely-paved, wide trail which goes along the river side of the New Belgium Brewing Company. Craft beer is a huge industry here in Asheville. The New Belgium Brewing Company is a very large company, but there are all sorts of micro- and nano-breweries here.
Haywood Road Bridge
The trail passes under the Haywood Road Bridge, and shortly thereafter… disappears. Well, the pavement disappears, and it becomes a dirt track.
Dirt Portion
I followed this until I came to the Asheville Dog Park, where the pavement picks up again. It was here that I turned around and saw this sign:
Wait, What?
It seems the “dirt portion” of the greenway is technically off-limits. But I swear there was no similar signage at the end I entered it. Also, I was not the only person on this part. By a long shot. Although naturally we were all careful to keep our distance from one another, it’s a pretty heavily-used trail, with mountain bikers, hikers, and trail runners all passing me at some point or another (have I mentioned I’m kind of a slow walker?).
Cut Leaved Toothwort, Cardamine concatenata
I’ve also decided to start documenting the various wildflowers I see on my jaunts, which should be of special interest to my Northern friends. Be sure to “Like” the Auntie Beak’s Place Facebook page, or follow me on Twitter, so you don’t miss any.
You can find out more about the French Broad River Greenway, and indeed all the City of Asheville Greenways, from this city website. As always, click the image above for details about this hike and to download the gps track.
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