Fun Things to Do with Kids in the Winter in Asheville
The Asheville area experiences a mild yet distinct winter season with cool temperatures, rain, occasional snowfall (ever rarer accumulation), and many beautiful, sunny days. Average daytime temperatures range from the mid-40s to low 50s, while nighttime temperatures can dip below freezing.
This gentle climate allows families to spend time outside in parks or exploring the outdoors, which can turn whimsical when snow dusts the Blue Ridge Mountains or waterfalls freeze. However, when it’s impossible to be outside, there are super cool indoor activities in Asheville for kids to do in the winter, which doesn’t really hit here until after the holidays.
I’ve compiled some of the best things to do when it’s cold and gloomy, considering all age groups and with the parents’ fun in mind, as always. I hope you enjoy your winter trip to Asheville. January and February are fabulous months to discover a slower-paced city, get to know locals better, and enjoy the many entertaining winter activities for families with kids.
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Fun Indoor Things to Do in the Winter in Asheville With Kids
1. Go on a LaZoom Tour
The Lazoom comedy tours are an Asheville landmark; nobody can claim they’ve been here until they experience them. They offer city tours, ghost tours, and beer tours, and the Lil Boogers tour is their family-friendly option, packed with educational entertainment, historical facts, and vaudeville joy.
Your kids would love the purple buses with faces, mustaches, eyelashes, the guide’s magic tricks, and the eccentric characters that jump on and off the bus. The best part is that your fur baby can join the fun since all tours are dog-friendly!
The Lazoom Room, from where the tours depart, is a funky lounge “outfitted in the finest colors and textures only Edgar Allen Poe’s mother could love,” plenty of photo ops, and the best local beer for parents to drink before or during the tour.
2. Join the NC Smokies Ice Fest Weekend
Is your family a fan of winter? The NC Smokies Ice Fest Weekend occurs during the last week of January in beautiful neighboring Haywood County, featuring many frozen fun activities in various towns. This is a great chance to explore this area, which is known for having the highest average elevation of any county in the East. It’s home to Pisgah National Forest and the 79-mile loop National Forest Scenic Byway.
From skiing, tubing, or participating in a torch run in the Catalooche Ski Area and skating in an ice ring in Canton to an enchanting ice fest in Maggie Valley with ice carving demos, an ice slide, and games, your family will have a blast. Plus, there are lodging and dining specials!
3. Catch a Performance
The Wortham Center for the Performing Arts downtown is one of the best places to enjoy a play and listen to live music. Although many performances are family-friendly, the Student Series is perfect for introducing little kids to theater. The shows are often shorter in the morning, and the prices are great!
The Student Series features high-quality, curriculum-related performances by professional, nationally touring companies. It is open to everyone with kids from PreK to Grade 12, and they often include educational opportunities like Q & A with the artists or workshops.
There are three restaurants close to the theater that are very popular for families with kids: Mamacitas Taqueria serves amazing burritos; White Duck Tacos has some of the best non-Mexican tacos; and Farm Burger’s grass-fed burgers and milkshakes are top-notch.
4. Unwind at the Asheville Salt Cave
Asheville Salt Cave offers one of the most unique wellness experiences in Asheville. The cavern recreates the microclimate of a salt mine using 30 tons of pure pink salt from Poland, the Dead Sea, the Himalayas, and the Celtic Sea. The air in the cave is saturated with ions, which boost the immune system, promote general relaxation, and relieve skin and respiratory conditions.
Although the experience targets adults, the salt cave is open to families on Sunday mornings for quiet play sessions, with kids up to three years old entering for free. Your kids will love reading books, sitting on comfy lounge furniture, or playing with sand toys. The sessions are 40 minutes long, perfect for enjoying quality time, reconnecting, and setting the day off to a great start.
5. Play at Well Played Board Game Cafe
Well Played Board Game Cafe downtown is one of the best places to spend a rainy, cold afternoon in Asheville. It offers a selection of 700 games organized by difficulty level and features a vast menu of savory and sweet comfort food and local beer and coffee that will make you feel so at home you’ll never want to leave.
Their Gamemasters are experts who advise you on what game to play so everyone can have fun. A flat gaming fee varies depending on the day of the week and whether the participant is a kid or an adult. The fee covers an entire day of play, and kids under six are free with a paying adult! They offer a membership for locals.
6. Make Art at Fired Up!
Fired Up! Creative Lounge has been voted year after year as “Best Place to Make Art” by Mountain Express readers. It offers many artistic activities for kids, adults, and families, including paint-your-own pottery, glass fusing, clay hand-building, and canvas painting classes.
Their special events are such fun activities for kids in Asheville in the winter! Imagine a Bridgerton, Coraline, Barbie, Studio Ghibli, or Harry Potter-inspired guided painting and pottery classes. If you are visiting, no worries; they’ll mail your pieces for a flat fee per order (not per piece).
The lounge is on Wall Street, a few steps from the Grove Arcade and next door to Contrada, serving the best pizza in Asheville!
7. Cuddle Cute Cats
The House of Black Cat Magic is a foster home for black kitties, the most euthanized animals in the shelters, and a cat lounge. You pay a fee and get to spend time playing with the adorable panthers. Children 10 and older can visit with an adult, teens 14 and older don’t need supervision, and there are kiddy hours for families with younger children. Best news? All the cats are available for adoption!
The lounge has a shop full of fascinating items for the modern magic practitioner and hosts tarot reading, magic markets, and fun holiday gatherings. The lounge is on Haywood Road in West Asheville, the most free-spirited part of town, often called “the real Asheville.” This area is full of vintage boutiques, funky shops, murals, and fantastic breweries and places to eat. You’ll have a blast playing with the kittie and exploring the area!
8. Go Axe Throwing at Axeville
This is a super fun winter activity for kids 13 and older in Asheville. Axe throwing is an excellent exercise that improves coordination, releases stress, improves focus and concentration, promotes mental clarity, and is a fun social activity that creates unique family memories.
Axeville is a fun indoor space that allows you to throw axes at targets while enjoying a local beverage. It features ten targets (including six digital), three lounges, and a large outdoor area with games. We know teens can be hard to please, but believe me when I tell you, they’ll think this activity is super cool!
9. Hike Bearwallow Mountain Trail
Asheville’s temperate winter climate allows families to spend many days exploring the outdoors. Bearwallow Mountain Trail is the perfect kid-friendly winter hike because it’s short, engaging, and offers fantastic views, including the possibility of seeing cows on the grassy open mountain meadow at the summit.
Located at 4,232 feet above sea level, the trail is approximately one mile each way, but you can also use a gravel fire road back to the parking area for a 1.7-mile loop hike. Your kids will love playing in the meadow under the warm winter sunshine. Make sure to bring a picnic and enjoy the views!
10. Walk the Blue Ridge Parkway
Yes, you read that right: the Blue Ridge Parkway is not salted or plowed during the winter, so when temperatures drop, it might freeze and be closed to cars in higher elevations. However, it’ll still be open to pedestrians and cyclists. Park at one of the gates and start walking to enjoy the parkway on foot!
The Blue Ridge Parkway is one of the most scenic drives near Asheville. It boasts incredible views, photogenic tunnels, and plenty of picnic spots. You can check for closures on this map. Please remember to dress in layers and bring plenty of fuel-packed snacks.
11. Take a Ghost Tour
The multi-award-winning Gray Line Trolley Tours of Asheville offers fantastic city tours and a bewitching Haunted History and Murder Mystery Tour that captivates older kids’ attention. “Sit back if you dare as we illuminate Asheville’s darkest history with astonishing stories of spirits, spies, ghosts, goblins, hauntings, hoodlums, and mountain-made murder.”
The 75-minute tour will take your family to our city’s most beloved horrific stories. You’ll learn about the Grove Park Inn’s Pink Lady, the architect walled into his church, the Nazi agents based in Asheville, and the arson at a mental health hospital that took Zelda Fitzgerald’s life, among other fascinating tales. This is another teen-approved activity to do in Asheville in the winter!
12. Have High Tea at The Book & Bee
The Book & Bee is a charming restaurant in Hendersonville that offers formal afternoon tea and hundreds of books. Your book lovers will find this activity delightful, and you’ll treasure the tech-free ambiance. The tea house focuses on everything English; from literature to decor and china, you’ll be transported to the Land of the Rose!
You’ll enjoy the cozy space and the selection of teas, each of whose name was inspired by books and authors. Guess which author is Earl Grey Tea? The Sherlock! (“Elementary, my dear Watson…”). The high tea service includes three tiers of finger sandwiches, scones with jam, lemon curd, and Devonshire cream, and sweet treats. The children’s tea trays are half-priced!
13. See a Frozen Waterfall
Bundle up in your warmest winter gear and head to Looking Glass Falls in Pisgah National Forest. This 60-foot waterfall near Brevard is easily accessible and can be viewed from the parking area. You and your kids will be so mesmerized by the frozen waterfall and ice formations that singing “Let it Go” will only come naturally…
Take some time to explore other waterfalls in the area, and end your adventure strolling around the lovely town of Brevard, one of the best day trips from Asheville, known for its nostalgic antique shops, fine places to eat, and the adorable white squirrels that will match perfectly with the Frozen-themed field trip.
We hope you have a great time in Asheville this winter!
Laura Bernhein
Born in Argentina, Laura is a journalist who's lived in Asheville for 10 years. She loves all things Asheville, from the vast business scene to the beautiful nonprofits, magical people, and marvelous nature. She loves being involved in projects that are the change she wants to see in the world.