I go to school in Anderson, South Carolina, and when the heat and humidity starts to rise, coming home to the mountain air, is one of the most amazing feelings. My high school friend group scattered for college and summer is our chance to come back home and get together. Seriously, is there really a better place for gathering?

Asheville is full of spaces to come together and casually enjoy this incredible weather and the beauty all around us. One of the biggest challenges anywhere we go is finding quality experiences on our (tight) college student budget. BUT, we have almost mastered the art of being cheap. So here’s a little review of our favorite places to hang in Asheville without upsetting our wallets.

Anyone on a tight budget loves free, and there’s no better place than Asheville to have a free adventure day. One of our favorite things to do is drive up the parkway either at sunrise (if you can stand the early morning) or sunset. You get a BRP drive, the mountains in their most beautiful state, don’t have to worry about taking a meal, and don’t even have to hike for it. We’ve tried a lot of them and have found that the best sunrise lookout is right around the bend from the Pisgah Inn at the Funnel Top Overlook. It’s a 180 view above the clouds about 50 mins from the bottom- basically it’s perfect. For sunset, you'll want to get a view on all sides. The back sky of a sunset is hugely underrated. For an experience like this, the best place is the Mills River Valley Overlook. It’s about a 40 minute drive from the Brevard Road parkway entrance.

Then for a little more adventure, hikes around here are incredible. My favorites are Graveyard Fields and Black Balsam (these also give you a full view of the parkway on your drive up). For an adventure away from the crowds of the parkway, Bear Wallow Mountain Trail is a simple hike with great views (and cows!). John Rock and Looking Glass Falls require a bit of a drive, but the views and a stop in the cute little town of Brevard always make it worth it.

For a night out, go see the Asheville Tourists play! General Admission is just $10 and you can buy tickets ahead online. The stadium is in Downtown Asheville, so you can get the whole downtown experience. Most any local brewery is a perfect place to hang out for the evening. Appetizers are always good and a lot of them have the BEST homemade sodas. Sierra Nevada, Mills River Brewery, and Highland Brewing Company have games, live music, and huge first come first serve tables.

One of my absolute favorite things about Asheville in the summer is the Farmers Markets and Festivals. There is no entrance fee so it can be a fun walk and look, or you can splurge and take advantage of the amazing farmers and vendors. The Hendersonville Farmers Market is full of friendly locals and happens every Saturday from 8-1. The North Asheville Tailgate market is perfect for people closer to Downtown. It's also every Saturday from 8-12. The West Asheville Farmers Market is a perfect midweek stop. It's in the heart of West Asheville and there's usually live music featuring a local artist. This one is Tuesdays 3:30-6:30. And you can stop by Provisions, our West Asheville location while you’re there!

You can’t experience Asheville without finding amazing food! Next on the list is FOOD. As I already mentioned, all the breweries in town have amazing house-made appetizers. These are frequent for all of our families to gather. But tacos are usually a go-to for an inexpensive meal out. In my opinion, the best tacos in Asheville are from Taco Billy. But Taco Temple, White Duck Taco, and The Walk ($2 Tacos every Tuesday!!!) never disappoint. A couple more Asheville staples that are not super expensive are Biscuit Head (a huge biscuit and a side for $5!) and Rockies Hot Chicken Shack. And Asheville Pizza is always a good choice for a bigger crowd.

If I talked about everything it would be 10 pages, but I’m guessing you’re probably not up for that. This is a perfect little starter list for a perfect inexpensive day in Asheville.  So if you’re in need of a mountain vacay on a budget, look into the endless options of little AirBnbs around town and get outside… No box required!

- Caroline G.