3 more NC spots named on USA Today’s 10Best lists. These are great for adventurers.

USA TODAY readers voted three more North Carolina spots among the best in North America in the categories for “Best Cycling Tour,” “Best Botanical Garden” and “Best Rafting Tour.”

If you’re an adventurer (or just love spending time in the great outdoors), these spots are for you. Lace up your sneakers, slather on your sunscreen and make a weekend out of exploring these top-ranked places and activities.

The annual 10Best Readers’ Choice Awards are determined by readers’ votes. Initial selections came from travel experts choosing the top 20 nominees in a number of categories, including best art museum, best farmers market, best outdoor water park and more. The N&O previously reported that North Carolina spots won 10Best awards for “Small Towns for Adventures” and “Best Aquariums.”

As of July 6, many 10Best categories are still pending, and results will be announced over the next few weeks.

All categories, winners and pending winners can be found at 10best.com/awards/travel.

North Carolina wins for best cycling tour

Carolina Tailwinds: This cycling tour group took the top spot for the best cycling tour of 2022. The group’s Twitter account says they are based out of Winston-Salem.

“Carolina Tailwinds offers multi-day inn-to-inn bicycle tours to 16 destinations in 10 states around the Eastern U.S. Guests stay at boutique hotels and country inns, with breakfasts, most lunches and dinners included,” USA TODAY 10Best said.

The company offers five North Carolina-based bike tours: Outer Banks, Blue Ridge, Horse Country and two Southern Outer Banks tours.

For more information, visit carolinatailwinds.com.

North Carolina wins for best botanical gardens

Asheville: The Biltmore Garden & Grounds won a top-10 readers’ choice award for best botanical garden in North America. The Biltmore Estate, where the garden is located, takes about 3 hours and 45 minutes to drive from Raleigh.

“The magnificent gardens and grounds of the Biltmore Estate in Asheville, North Carolina change every season as constantly evolving waves of color transform the 8,000 acres. Throughout April, enjoy the coming of spring with forsythia, magnolias, tulips, dogwoods and redbuds. In later spring, poppies, pansies, azaleas and other flowering shrubs make their glorious colors known to visitors,” USA TODAY 10Best said.

“From mid-September through October, chrysanthemums and salvias fill the garden beds, and in the latter part of October, trees display a glorious mix of greens, golds and russet colors. During the winter months, while the outdoor gardens take a well-deserved rest, the Conservatory offers poinsettias and orchids for beautiful holiday photo opportunities.”

For visitors information, check out biltmore.com/visit/biltmore-estate/gardens-grounds.

The Biltmore Garden & Grounds came in at #9 on the list. The top spot went to Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden in Coral Gables, Florida.

North Carolina wins for best rafting tour

Saluda: Green River Adventures won a top-10 readers’ choice award for best rafting tour in North America. The office is located in Saluda, which is about a four-hour drive from Raleigh.

Green River Adventures has rafting, rappelling, trekking and more activities that are for the whole family. The “adventure filter” is measured by physical activity, adrenaline level and experience level, and you can filter by low, medium or high in all three categories.

In case you’re wondering, cranking your filter to the top setting in all three categories shows you the Big Bradley Waterfall Rappel, which can be combined with a trek for a full-day combo. But don’t worry, there are many mellow activities to choose from.

For visitors’ information, check out greenriveradventures.com.

Green River Adventures came in at #8 on the list. The top spot went to Wilderness Voyageurs in Ohiopyle, Pennsylvania.

Asheville tops a lot of lists

Along with being a great place to visit (as Biltmore’s presence on USA Today’s list attests), Asheville has been ranked one of the best places to live. U.S. News and World Report ranked Asheville #46 on a list of the 150 best metro areas to live in the United States.

What makes it so great? Access to the Blue Ridge Parkway, plentiful water activities and nearby winter sports make Asheville a place for easy living, U.S. News and World Report said. Even the non-outdoorsy types have the River Arts District, a high volume of craft breweries and live music galore.

For that report, visit realestate.usnews.com/places/north-carolina/asheville.

If you’re curious about what it costs to live in Asheville, the chart below, using Redfin Metro Area Data, looks at how the median home sale price there has changed since June 2021.

▪ Asheville’s median home prices were at their highest (relative to the year-long span of this graph) at the end of May of this year. The highest price on this chart is $475,000 for median home prices in Asheville on May 30, 2022, according to Redfin Metro Area Data.

▪ Asheville’s median home prices were at their lowest (relative to the year-long span of this graph) in mid-July of last year — $340,000. The median home price was also this expensive in mid-January of this year, according to Redfin Metro Area Data.