BILTMORE FOR FREE

 

Christy, Myron, Dorcas, Wayne, Linda, Dave, and even the dogs joined me for a visit to the Biltmore Estate last Sunday.  Our tour was a little different from that of the typical tourist though.  We didn’t make it to the manor house, and we missed out on the wine and ice cream.  On the other hand, we also didn’t spend $36 a person.  $36 a person!  For that price I expect at least a couple of roller coasters!  Fortunately, canoeing the French Broad River through Biltmore is still free.

 

Christy and I met everyone else at the Bent Creek river access on 191 south of Asheville.  The access is at a small park just north of the Parkway bridge.  We had originally planned to start at the Sandy Bottoms access a ½ mile further upstream, but found that parking area closed.

 

Christy, Myron, and Dave ran a shuttle to our take out at the Hominy Creek access, which is just south of the I-40 bridge.  This proved to be the biggest challenge of the trip, thanks to some confusing directions.  If you attempt this trip, take highway 191 north, crossing bridges over I-26, I-40, and I-240.  Take the first left after the exit ramp for I-240 on the far side of the bridge.  Take the next left onto Hominy Creek Road, and follow it to the end.

 

Christy, Myron, and Dave finally returned after touring a fair bit of southwest Asheville.  We put-in at 11:30 under mostly cloudy skies.  Despite the clouds, it was a very warm day, and the cold river almost looked appealing.  The river was at a moderate level, promising a pleasant run.

 

We paddled downstream over small ripples and shoals before the river turned away from the road.  It wasn’t long before the I-26 bridge loomed ahead.  Under the bridge is the only significant rapid on this stretch of river.  Someone had painted large red arrows on two of the bridge pilings, indicating that the proper route is left of center.  We approached, and eyed the sizeable wave at the bottom of the drop.  We stayed near the piling on the right, which was a good move.  As we reached the rapid, the current pushed us left, towards a huge pile of driftwood surrounding the opposite piling.  If we had started farther left, it might’ve been ugly, but we didn’t have any trouble staying on line as we whooped our way through the waves at the end of the rapid.

 

Beyond the bridge, the paddling was easy as the water was mostly flat except for a few minor shoals.  At lower water levels this section would be more challenging, but today it was possible to pass over the shoals in multiple places.  The river is fairly wide, so at low water the biggest challenge might be staying out of the shallows.

 

Beyond the highway we passed through a quiet woodland that disguised the fact that we were on the outskirts of a major city.  At 12:30, we stopped for lunch at a site of questionable legality.  Both sides of the river are Biltmore property, and the banks are posted aggressively.  However, our spot was on a sandbar, which is technically part of the river.  After we ate, Saucony went swimming as she attempted to retrieve sticks I threw for her.  At one point, she mistook the limb of a submerged tree for a stick and entertained everyone by trying to drag it out of the river.

 

After lunch, we paddled downstream, chasing a flock of geese as we went.  This had Saucony beside herself.  She wanted to swim after them so badly she whined for the final hour of the trip.  Christy spent more time holding Saucony then she did paddling.  In addition to geese, we did see one Great Blue Heron.

 

Our first sighting of the Biltmore estate came about 30 minutes after lunch.  First we passed stables, a horse pasture, and a small house.  Farther downstream we got a nice view of the Biltmore House itself.  I had never seen the Biltmore House before, and I was quite impressed.  It looked more like a castle than a house.  I read somewhere that the Biltmore is the largest private residence in the United States.  I believe it.  I think I also read that the Biltmore has something like 17 bathrooms.  What do you do with 17 bathrooms?  If I lived there, I’d designate a specific function for each bathroom.  For example, the bathroom on the 3^rd floor in the east wing would be just for brushing teeth.  Interestingly, there was an 18^th bathroom, in the form of a port-a-potty, sitting in a field below the manor.  Frankly, I’m shocked that the Vanderbilt’s allow something as tacky as a port-a-potty on their estate.  I guess they prefer that to having the gardener tracking mud through the house on the way to use the john.  I did regret not bringing my camera though.  A photo of the Biltmore House with a port-a-potty in the foreground would’ve made quite an artistic statement.

 

Dorcas did bring her camera and spent a few minutes taking photos of the manor.  I’m eagerly anticipating copies in my email at any time now.  Eventually we paddled on, but we were treated to one more dramatic view of the house by looking back upstream.  It turns out that our timing for this trip was perfect.  Most views of the house from the river are obscured once the foliage is on the trees.

 

We reached the take out by 2:30.  We had spent only a little over 2 hours paddling, thanks to the strong current.  Along the way, we had only seen 2 other paddlers.  This is a very popular stretch of river, so I’m sure the experience would’ve been different later in the spring or summer.  It had been a nice trip, but next time we’ll probably start further upstream to make it longer.  7 miles was perfect for this day though, as Christy and I were meeting with our minister that afternoon to discuss our wedding plans. 

 

For more information on this run, consult http://www.boatingbeta.com/runs/fbbiltmore.htm.  For rentals or shuttle service, contact Southern Waterways at http://www.paddlewithus.com/.