As you walk down Haywood and take in the tattoo shops, hip restaurants, and vintage clothing stores, West Asheville doesn’t exactly scream “kid friendly”. But if you know where to look, there are a number of activities and things to do with kids in West Asheville.
You can grab some ice cream at The Hop, check out the kids’ classes at West Asheville Yoga, go for a hike at Hominy Creek, and nothing is more kid-friendly than a playground! Plus, if you want to get some of your own shopping in, both Provisions and Revolve have kids’ play areas so you can shop in peace.
The Hop West
The Hop is a local ice cream chain that features five locations in Asheville… one of them being in West Asheville. They usually offer 6-10 vegan flavors, and easily mark any flavors that also contain nuts or gluten. They offer vegan cones, gluten free cones, and even vegan and gluten free brownies for sundaes.
With all this to offer, if I’m being completely honest, it isn’t the best vegan ice cream I’ve had. It tends to be a bit on the icy side, rather than the creamy side. But it’s still worth a visit at times due to its variety of flavors.
It also features a “Little Library”, where there are children’s books you can read while you’re there, and even take home for free! For older kids, there’s also a chess board that is often occupied by kids and their parents or grandparents. It can be the perfect thing to do with kids in West Asheville when everyone could use a little (or a big! See below!) treat.
West Asheville Yoga
West Asheville Yoga tends to hold a number of workshops and events in addition to their regularly scheduled yoga classes. Many of these events, or series of classes, include kids' classes. Check their schedule here to see their latest offerings.
In the past, they have offered classes like a Kids Yoga and Art Class (ages 3-8), Tween/Teen yoga, Toddler yoga, and postnatal yoga. My daughter enjoyed the Kids Yoga and Art Class. At 6.5 years old, she was one of the older ones. I wouldn’t say it’s a “must do”, but she liked it and it could be fun for your kiddos to do in West Asheville.
Hominy Creek Greenway
The Hominy Creek Greenway is a fun activity for kids and all ages in West Asheville. The greenway is a well maintained, wide dirt path that is just 0.7 miles long. Which is plenty of distance when you have kids in tow. Especially when you factor in the various creek access points, which is where we spent most of our time.
Kids and dogs alike have fun down on the sandy creek bed. We enjoyed a lot of rock throwing, digging, making rafts out of sticks, and just soaking in the sunshine on a warmer winter day.
There are two entrance points on either end of the greenway path. Both have parking lots, so your starting point can really just depend on where you’re coming from. It isn’t an entire day’s activity, but a nice convenient piece of nature when you need to escape the city feel of West Asheville.
Augusta Barnett Playground
What better thing to do with kids in West Asheville than to check out the local playgrounds? Augusta Barnett Playground is just off of Haywood Rd, and tucked behind the West Asheville Library. It is a small playground, but newly updated. It also tends to be a gathering place for families after school and when weather allows.
It features a climbing structure, two swings, a couple of slides and a spinny toy that doesn’t spin. Every time we visited, there was at least one other family playing, which was refreshing to see in an area where kids can be hard to come by.
Malvern Hills Park
Malvern Hills Park is another very popular playground for families in West Asheville. Its play structures are a bit more varied and larger than Augusta Barnett Playground. Plus there’s space for kicking around a soccer ball, a sand pit in the little kids’ area, a picnic shelter, and a nice trail that follows the creek.
I really wish we had discovered this park sooner. Even though it isn’t as walkable from all the happenings on Haywood as Augusta Barnett, it’s definitely more of a park than just a playground, and still just as much a gathering place for families to socialize and catch up after school and work, and on the weekends.
West Asheville Park - Gassaway Field
West Asheville Park is tucked down in a neighborhood and seems to be the least frequented of the three playgrounds in West Asheville. It features a baseball field that I’m sure is popular in the summer, as well as a small playground suitable for all ages. It does give you those “nature” feels that can be missing when you’re more in the city.
West Asheville Kid-Friendly Shopping
Provisions
Provisions is a shop in West Asheville that sells higher end home decor, local food specialties, and other locally made goods. Everything from sweatshirts to cocktail glasses to soup mixes to children’s cups and plates.
The reason it’s featured on a kids’ activity list for West Asheville is that they have a basket of toys in the back for your kids to enjoy. So you can leisurely shop and actually take everything in without worrying about grabby hands or crabby, bored complaints. It was seriously a luxury for my kids to be building a train track while I perused like I used to pre-kids.
Revolve
If trendy used and vintage clothing is your thing, then Revolve could be the perfect stop for you with your kids in West Asheville. They have a small play kitchen and doll stroller in the front of the shop so you can check out the racks without having your six year old tell you everything you just have to buy and your toddler screeching until she can play with all the hangers.
Honestly, I did feel a bit old in this shop. I mean, the fact that the window display featured an N’Sync t shirt as “vintage fare” made me feel just a bit… vintage. Not to worry, it wasn’t all N’Sync. True to West Asheville style, there were plenty of flannel shirts and prairie dresses to be found.
West Asheville Library
The West Asheville library has a small kids section with a variety of books as well as a puzzle table. We were able to entertain ourselves for around 45 minutes with a six year old and a toddler. They also have story times, monthly lego clubs, and other seasonal events. It’s also steps from Augusta Barnett Playground if the weather is cooperating.
Of course, there are plenty of things to do with kids in the areas surrounding West Asheville as well. But hopefully this list of kids’ activities in West Asheville helps if you’re in the area! And is there anything I missed? Let me know in the comments section!
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