Jun 17, 2005  |  By: MONICA HESSE  | COMMENTS     

ASHEVILLE, N.C., is a gay-friendly mountain town nestled in a valley of the Blue Ridge range, 120 miles west of Charlotte. It’s populated by free spirits and drifters who arrived by way of the Appalachian Trail and impulsively decided to stay for awhile.

With only about 70,000 residents, Asheville became a haven for artists, craftsmen and chefs with enough culture to acquire the nickname “The Paris of the South.” If that’s not enough of a reason to visit, two years ago Out magazine ranked it as the hottest small town in which to be gay.

Most of the city’s million-plus tourists include the popular Biltmore Estate (www.biltmore.com) on their itinerary, either as an afternoon jaunt or a primary destination, and gay visitors are no exception. The country’s largest private residence was built for the Vanderbilt family and boasts an extensive collection of antiques and art, a respected winery with regular tastings, endless gardens and an outdoor equestrian center.

For the first time, on July 1, the fourth floor of the Biltmore is scheduled to be open to the public. The city’s Summer Concert Series, featuring performers from Loretta Lynn to Three Dog Night, begins in August. More than 300,000 people flock to the Bele Chere Festival in downtown Asheville each July.

Reserve at least a full day to explore Asheville’s downtown area, which is packed with art galleries, cafés, and antique stores.

A visit to downtown Asheville isn’t complete without a stop in the lesbian-owned Malaprops bookstore, widely rumored to be the best independent bookstore in the Southeast. It is centrally located on Haywood Street and features an outdoor café and live music, along with an eclectic book selection. In addition to books of gay interest, the store has a special section devoted to literature currently banned by libraries and schools nationwide.

A DAY HIKE through the Blue Ridge foothills or to nearby natural waterfall, Sliding Rock, might leave you too exhausted to sample any of Asheville’s nightlife. If you can muster the energy, however, the town’s premier gay clubs include Scandals, which has a two-tiered dance floor and pulsing house music, and Club Hairspray, a ’60s-style drag disco.

For something more low-key, the Smokey Tavern is a honky-tonk local favorite. Residents say straight nightspots like the New French Bar and the Flying Frog are as welcoming as gay establishments.

Though Asheville has its share of major hotel chains, a better way to experience the town’s charm is to stay at one of the local B&B’s, especially one that’s gay-owned. The 1889 WhiteGate Inn & Cottage overlooks the famous Thomas Wolfe House, and is owned by long-term partners Ralph Coffey and Frank Salvo. (Rooms run from $160 per night for the mission-style Dorothy Parker room to $340 for the lavish Walt Whitman suite.)

Don’t miss Frank’s blintz soufflé with warm strawberry sauce or his crab and artichoke egg puff.

After breakfast, let Ralph take you on a tour of the gardens or pamper yourself with one of the spa packages available on site.

If you’re traveling on a budget, Richard Fast’s 1940’s style Montford Apartment has a fully equipped kitchen and dining area in a stately neighborhood for $90 per night.

Other gay-owned inns and B&B’s include Compassionate Expressions, a spiritual retreat 30 minutes outside of Asheville, and Bittersweet Cottage, an arts-and-crafts style mountaintop retreat.