Poet Carl Sandburg spent his last years at his Connemara retreat here; tour his home and his wife’s adjacent goat farm (www.nps.gov/carl) or catch a performance at the esteemed Flat Rock Playhouse (www.flatrockplayhouse.org), the State Theater of North Carolina.
But the big buzz in the area is “Hunger Games” – some exteriors for the fantasy flick were filmed in DuPont State Forest, a 16-square-mile state-owned preserve. Explore trails (on foot, mountain bike or horseback); walk along the Little River to view Hooker Falls, Triple Falls and High Falls. (www.dupontforest.com)
Prime times to visit the area include Labor Day weekend in Hendersonville (N.C. Apple Festival; www.ncapplefestival.org); Sept. 7-8 in Brevard (Mountain Song Festival’s bluegrass; www.mountainsongfestival.com); and early October in Flat Rock (Flat Rock Art & Wine Festival; www.flatrockwineshoppe.com).
Area info: www.historichendersonville.org.
