Amazon.com description: Product Description: The Ultimate Guide to Asheville & the Western North Carolina Mountains is the highly acclaimed best-selling regional guidebook to Asheville and vast mountain region of North Carolina. In print since 1998, this latest up-to-date edition written by a local author Lee James Pantas is a wonderful resource for vacation or relocation planning, and will pay for itself in both time and money. An easy-to-use, superbly indexed 494 page-guide that covers every aspect of Asheville as well as in-depth coverage of all of the other 70 cities and towns, from the foothills to the highest peaks, including Boone, Hendersonville, Hickory, Lenoir, Morganton and Waynesville. Exquisitely illustrated with over 100 original pen & ink illustrations by the artist author, the Ultimate Guide is the only book available that presents all of the 250 attractions in the mountains, from tiny historical museums and craft galleries to blockbuster attractions, including Biltmore Estate, the Cherokee Indian Reservation, the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, and the Appalachian Trail and the Blue Ridge Parkway. Complete coverage of the best accommodations and restaurants in every city and town as well as the complete range of outdoor recreation activities so popular in the mountains, everything from gem hunting and bird watching to hiking and whitewater rafting. The Ultimate Guide also presents in depth information about the most popular festivals and events, craft beer breweries and wineries, kid's activities, daytrips, tours, local history, shopping and much more. Highly recommended by the Asheville Chamber of Commerce, Biltmore Estate and numerous Visitor Centers throughout the mountains, it is the only book you will need to plan your vacation or move to the mountains.