Spending a few days in Hot Springs and looking for recommendations for places to eat, drink, and things to do. Any guidance would be appreciated! Cheers.
Don't know if there's anything in Hot Springs itself. The closest place might be Marshall Container Co, probably about a 25 minute drive. If you're able to get down to Asheville, then there are tons of great options. There are lots of good threads here about where to eat and drink in AVL, so do a quick search and you'll find lots of info.
You'll be pretty close to one of the best hiking / views East of the Mississippi. Check out Max Patch on the Appalachian Trail. Also, Lover's Leap (also on the AT) is another good trail which starts off in Hot Springs.
I hope you're staying in one of the cabins down over the tracks right next to the French Broad that has the hot thermal spring water piped in. That was an amazing experience! If not, I believe there is a larger communal hot spring place. There's a nice little store next to the rustic camping area that sells a good assortment of beer. There was also a nice restaurant (10+ years ago) in the middle of town right on a creek feeding the French Broad. I remember good beer and a really nice wine list. The AT goes straight through town and Hot Springs had a WW1 German officer's prisoner of war camp nearby. Take Ron Rash's The Cove for reading! Hiking the trail across the river up to the outcroppings overlooking the entire area is beautiful. This time of year the choppers scouring the area for weed will be grounded, so it may be very quiet!
Very limited hours (Fri- Sat 1 -6), no food and samples only. Primary business is bottle sales of their brews.
It's probably the small shop but I was in Hot Springs about a month ago and they had a few bourbon county sitting on their shelves that i picked up. Not a huge place but a solid offering.
