Life is blooming everywhere in Asheville in May. Flowers and baby bunnies can be spotted at parks and hiking trails, there are tons of festivals and events, and folks are wearing their brightest smiles because the spring weather has finally settled in. In the middle of it all, we take one day to celebrate the superheroes of our lives: moms!

There are infinite ways to honor moms daily, from meaningful Asheville-made gifts to curated tea parties, spa experiences, and epic outdoor adventures. I’ve compiled a list of some of the best ideas to celebrate Mother’s Day in Asheville, ranging from an adventurous hot air balloon ride to a grounding waterfall hike.

Of course, you can mix and match these suggestions to create a perfect day and go from one great thing to another. I hope you have fun celebrating Mother’s Day in Asheville!

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13 Fun Things to Do for Mother’s Day in Asheville

​1. Brunch at The Inn on Biltmore Estate

Visiting Biltmore Estate in May is one of the best things to do in Asheville in the spring and a top-notch way to celebrate mom. The designed gardens and grounds explode with buds and flowers, and the weather is glorious. Add a sumptuous brunch or an afternoon tea service (or both!), and your Mother’s Day in Asheville will be one for the books.

The Inn on Biltmore Estate offers a fabulous brunch featuring seasonal, locally-grown ingredients, craft cocktails, wine from Biltmore Winery, live music, a photo booth, and the high-end service that’s the signature of one of the finest luxury hotels in Asheville. 

If your mom is not a morning person, the afternoon tea in The Dining Room will make a great choice. She’ll love the Newby Teas or the tea-infused cocktails and mimosas, served alongside fresh-baked scones with clotted cream, honey, homemade jams, canapés, and tea sandwiches. 

These experiences are available for people with a daytime ticket, a Biltmore Annual Pass, or staying at one of the estate’s hotels. 

Location: 1 Lodge St., Asheville. 

2. Go on a Hot Air Balloon Ride

While this might not be an experience for everyone, it’ll surely be a thrilling way to kick off Mother’s Day. Asheville Balloon Company offers sunrise hot air balloon rides. Your family will love overlooking the scenery while savoring champagne and hour d’oeuvres.

This is a child-friendly experience since the largest baskets can carry up to seven passengers. However, the baskets are 48 inches tall, so passengers have to be at least six years old. 

People who have had this experience rave about how exciting and serene these flights are. I can’t imagine a better way to appreciate the views while celebrating mom than a peaceful float over the mountains.

3. Have a Staycation at the Omni Grove Park Inn

The Omni Grove Park Inn is one of the best hotels in town, a historical landmark, and a perfect place to spend Mother’s Day weekend in Asheville. 

She’ll love the resort’s classic yet laid-back atmosphere, the many terrific restaurants, the shops, the sunset views, and the fantastic subterranean spa! Think about 43,000 square feet of outstanding amenities, including relaxation pools, lap pools, waterfalls, streams, saunas, and steam rooms. 

She’ll love getting a skin treatment, massage therapy, pedicure, or a light lunch at the spa’s café. Spa Day Passes are available for hotel guests only through reservation, although they occasionally have openings for locals. 

On top of that, the Blue Ridge Restaurant offers a Sunday brunch buffet with fantastic farm-to-table food, lots of dessert choices, and spectacular mountain views. You won’t have (or want) to leave the resort on Mother’s Day weekend! End your stay with a wild food foraging tour around the hotel’s grounds to harvest and eat wild edible plants!

Location: 209 Macon Ave., Asheville. 

4. Spend the Day in the River Arts District

The River Arts District (RAD) is a wonderful place to spend Mother’s Day in Asheville. With over 200 art studios and great places to eat, you can treat mom with fantastic food, shopping, an art class or workshop, and lots of sunshine. 

Start your day brunching at Vivian. Whatever you order from their rotating menu, you’ll love it. To give you an idea, this restaurant’s chef was a 2023 nominee for the super prestigious James Beard Award. Start with some amazing pastries and PennyCup Vivian blend coffee, and then go with the Lamb Benedict and a craft cocktail!

Before brunch, take Mom to Marquee, “Asheville’s largest market for the old, the bold, the creative, and the unexpected,” and give her plenty of time to choose her gifts. She’ll have a blast shopping for clothing, jewelry, plants, vintage items, and antiques. 

Spend the rest of the afternoon walking, biking, or skating the Wilma Dykeman greenway on the French Broad River, or take a customized art class at ArtPlay Studio. End the day with non-traditional and super tasty tacos at White Duck Taco Shop. 

5. Take Mom to Bloom with a View 

Bloom with a View is a floral exhibition happening in May at the fantastic North Carolina Arboretum. The gardens are decorated with planters that elevate the blooms to eye level, assuring you are as close as possible to over 20,000 Asian, Calla, and Stargazer lilies and 1,500 pots of hydrangeas.

Mom will have a blast walking among the flowers and taking precious photos. Pack a picnic and eat it in the sunshine, or treat her with lunch at the sweet Bent Creek Bistro, which offers a rotating menu based on locally-grown food and indoor and outdoor seating.

The Gardener’s Shed will be open during this exhibit, offering plants, beer, wine, mimosas, and non-alcoholic beverages. A potted plant from the plant sale will make a perfect Mother’s Day gift to take home!

Location: 100 Frederick Law Olmsted Way, Asheville.

6. Surprise Her with a Picnic Pop-Up 

Mom will adore a whimsical pop-up luxury picnic designed just for her. Asheville Luxury Picnic Company will bring everything, from the food and drinks from local vendors to your chosen decorations. All you have to do is show up and enjoy mom’s face when she sees the fabulous display! Don’t worry about cleaning up; they’ll take care of that too. 

This surprise picnic can take place whenever you choose. It could be the spectacular add-on to a hike with a sunset view, your favorite spot in town by the French Broad River, or your backyard. 

Each event includes a charcuterie table from Urban Graze Company and can be customized according to your preferences. You can bring other food and drinks too!

They offer packages, including a fun tea party for kids. Some decor includes fresh or dried floral arrangements, blankets, rugs, cushions, lanterns, candles, chalkboards with personalized messages, bamboo tents, and Bluetooth speakers.

7. Have a Picnic at Triple Falls

May is a beautiful time to go waterfall hunting in North Carolina. The water flow is higher due to the melting snow and spring showers, and the wildflowers are popping everywhere. Mom will love celebrating her day outdoors.

The hike to Triple Falls in the DuPont State Recreational Forest will give you stunning views and hundreds of photo ops. Pair it with one of two charcuterie boxes from South Slope Cheese Co., and you’ll have a perfect Mother’s Day in Asheville. 

This hike is part of the Little River Loop Trail. After an easy-moderate short hike, you’ll arrive at Triple Falls, a spectacular three-tiered waterfall. If you continue hiking the trail, you’ll get to High Falls and Hooker Falls for more water fun.

Forget the usual cereal bars, peanut butter sandwiches, and apples. The ready-to-go charcuterie boxes from South Slope Cheese Co. will make the ideal snack for this Mother’s Day hike. 

The Local Grab and Go Charcuterie box is an excellent choice: it includes three rotating kinds of local cheese, Italian mortadella and salami, local chocolate, almonds, and olives.

8. Brunch at Sunny Point Café

Sunny Point Café is one of the best brunch spots in town. Because of its gardens full of herbs, vegetable plants, wildflowers, and pollinators, it makes a lovely choice to celebrate Mother’s Day in Asheville.

I must warn you: Sunny Point doesn’t take reservations and is a very popular place to eat, especially on Mother’s Day. But your wait can be eased by enjoying the sunshine outside, walking around the charming neighborhood, or getting coffee and excellent pastries at the newly-opened Rabbit Hole Bakery.

You’ll love everything from Sunny Point’s menu. This place has been around for 20 years, and in 10 years of living in Asheville, I have yet to find something I don’t like. Some popular choices are the Huevos Rancheros and the Stuffed French Toast. I am still determining their secret, but the bacon is the best!

Sunny Point is on Haywood Road, West Asheville’s central street, and very close to other fun places to continue your Mother’s Day celebrations, like the cat lounge House of Black Cat Magic.

Location: 626 Haywood Rd., Asheville.

9. Reserve a Hot Tub at Hot Springs Resort & Spa

Mom will love soaking in mineral waters in a hot tub at Hot Springs Resort & Spa by the French Broad River. Each jetted tub is private and gets drained and sanitized after each use. The best part? There is no charge for kids under 12. 

You can pair this experience with hiking the Lovers Leap Loop Trail and staying overnight at the 100-acre resort. They have camping cabins, camping sites, and luxury suites by the river featuring jetted outdoor tubs. 

The town of Hot Springs (Madison County), where the resort is located, is part of the Appalachian Trail and is surrounded by the Pisgah National Forest. Your family will love strolling around the well-preserved historic district and its charming streets.

Location: 315 Bridge St., Hot Springs. 

10. Pamper the Whole Family at RU Social Spa

Gifting mom an extraordinary wellness experience in town is a great idea year-round. However, enjoying micro spa treatments as a family is a fantastic way to celebrate Mother’s Day in Asheville. 

Recline & Unwind Social Spa’s offering is simple: you sit down in a super comfy reclining chair, order local drinks and snacks, and from there, you can receive fantastic treatments, including foot soaks with aromatherapy, arms and leg massages, and mini facial massages.

This spa encourages social interactions, so you can talk, laugh, and have high-quality family time while relaxing and unwinding. 

The location couldn’t be better: it’s in Pack Square, in the middle of it all, and just a few steps from Stay Glazed Donuts and the French Broad Chocolate Lounge, two awesome places to continue your celebrations.

Location: 20 S. Pack Square, Asheville.

11. Enjoy Tapas with a View at Capella on 9

Capella on 9 is the AC Hotel by Marriott’s rooftop bar. It’s stylish and spacious, has indoor and outdoor seating, and offers a fantastic menu of Mediterranean-inspired tapas and handcrafted cocktails with some of the most astonishing sunset views in downtown Asheville. 

Mom will love the relaxed vibe, the firepits, and taking in the vistas while savoring local beer, cider, seltzer, wine, or cocktails and eating ceviche, butter gnocchi, or a slice of their fantastic olive oil cake.

Capella on 9 is open from breakfast to dinner, so choosing the best time to celebrate Mother’s Day here is up to you. Take some time before or after your meal to stroll around the streets of downtown to shop and visit an art gallery or a cat café!

Location: 10 Broadway St. f9, Asheville.

12. Have a Scenic Lunch at Pisgah Inn

The Blue Ridge Parkway is one of the most scenic drives in Asheville. It offers fantastic views all year round, but it’s particularly colorful in the spring with the various shades of greens and the wildflower patches. Taking the Parkway South to have lunch at Pisgah Inn will make a one-of-a-kind Mother’s Day celebration in Asheville. 

Mom will love the drive, the excellent food (try the Pisgah Chicken Pot Pie and the French Silk Pie!), and the panoramic views from the dining room. You can make reservations 30 days in advance, but if you are late to the game, they still have ready-to-go sandwiches and snacks you can take to eat outside on an Adirondack chair overlooking the mountains.

On the way to Pisgah Inn, you can stop at the Folk Art Center to find arts and crafts Appalachian gifts or take in the views at some overlooks.

Location: 408 Blue Rdg Pkway, Canton. 

13. Take a Tour with The Flying Bike

May tends to be the sunniest spring month in our area, so joining a guided electric bike tour around downtown seems like a perfect plan to celebrate Mother’s Day in Asheville. The Flying Bike offers fantastic routes to get to know the city better.

Their guided 12-mile (round-trip) Downtown Asheville Electric Bike Tour will take you to all the architectural landmarks, including the Grove Arcade and the Basilica of Saint Lawrence, as well as the historic district of Montford and the Reed Creek Greenway. 

The culmination of your adventure will be admiring the mountain views from the Omni Grove Park Inn’s Sunset Terrace. These tours are kid-friendly, and gear will be provided, including helmets, gloves, scarves, rain ponchos, and spring water.

There you have it! 13 fun ways to have a memorable Mother’s Day in Asheville. What are your plans for Mother’s Day?