Back in 2022, I did a post on my favorite places to watch the sunset in Asheville and Western North Carolina. It’s one of my best-performing posts, and one I felt might need a bit of an update, not only because I’ve learned and grown since 2022, but because though it’s not my top priority, I do care about this little website’s performance, which includes occasionally not just bitching about local NC-11 congress people it seems that only I care about (or writing a post directed at literally, two people), but giving the people what they want.
So, without further ado, here are my recommendations for the best places to watch the sunset in this glorious little slice of Appalachia:
Black Balsam Knob
Black Balsam Knob is hands down my favorite place to watch the sunset in Western North Carolina, so I’m including it at the top of this list. To my knowledge, it is one of the only places you could go to, and if you’re strategic about where you place yourself, you feel like you’re completely off the grid.
I average a Black Balsam Knob sunrise hike at least once every two months. It has a lot of positive attributes. It’s only an hour’s drive from town. It’s a bald peak, so it gets 360-degree views. And while you can see the lights of Asheville from one side of said views, the other—and most importantly, the side the sun sets on—looks over the Shining Rock Wilderness area, which has no lights, just miles of gorgeous pine forests. Black Balsam Knob is also very atmospheric, so even a foggy sunset has merit here.
The one detractor? It could get crowded. There’s a high possibility that you’ll be sharing your sunset with not only many other hikers, but probably some folks doing engagement photo shoots or full wedding parties. That’s why I said you have to be strategic. There are side trails you can find and little hidden rocks you can nestle onto to give yourself a sense of isolation.
Sam’s Knob
Sam’s Knob is essentially a mini-version of Black Balsam Knob, located just to the west—they even share the same parking lot. Compared to the Black Balsam Loop, Sam’s Knob is an easier hike, but if you’re just doing out and back to Black Balsam, I think Sam’s Knob actually works your leg muscles a bit more.
While I’ve hiked Sam’s Knob plenty, up until this past summer, I’d never done a proper sunset there, just because I love Black Balsam at sunset so much (Sam’s Knob appears in plenty of my Black Balsam sunset photography). Boy, was I missing out, because while you get very similar views, what you’ll get at Sam’s Knob that you won’t get at Black Balsam is solitude. When I watched the sunset from Sam’s Knob, I was the only one there, which truly was magical (while I hated typing “truly was magical” just then…it worked). Black Balsam, to me, really is the pinnacle of Western North Carolina sunsets, but you’re never going to be alone up there.
Roan Highlands
The Roan Highlands will be the farthest destination from Asheville on this list. It’s a good hour and twenty-minute drive, situated on the NC/TN border north of Burnsville, but honestly, it’s well worth the drive (I’d recommend stopping and getting a late lunch or early dinner in Burnsville first). The Roan Highlands have three bald peaks, so you’re also getting 360-degree views.
You follow the Appalachian Trail, which makes for a nice choose-your-own adventure hike. You can hit all three peaks for a 4-mile and some change round-trip hike or just do the first for a very easy jaunt, though I will say, the views from Grassy Bald, the furthest peak, are, in my estimate at least, the most magnificent.
The Deck of Shakey’s
I’m going to include three bar/restaurant views on this list (which includes Grove Park, which likes to bill itself as the sunset destination in Asheville), but this one, maybe because it’s the most unexpected (which appeals to the contrarian part of me I’m becoming more and more comfortable accepting and promoting), is going to appear at the top of the list.
Shakey’s is a divey-ish bar in downtown Asheville (they haven’t been around long enough to be a proper dive bar, but it’s stronger dive bar vibes than many places that self-proclaim themselves to be dives). I don’t go to Shakey’s a ton, and I’ve never gone specifically for a sunset, but I’ve ended up there a couple of times when the sun’s going down, and honestly, it’s pretty glorious. If you’re out on the towns and want a sunset backdrop without a ton of effort (or the Instagram-fueled crowds that gravitate towards the rooftop hotel bars basically built with sunsets in mind), this is your place.
Lunch Rock
Lunch Rock makes it high on the list because of ease. It’s only a fifteen-minute drive from town up the Blue Ridge Parkway, and you could park at the Parkway’s Folk Art Center to make this a proper 5-mile round-trip hike or a half mile from the rock on a pull-off if you’re stretched for time. Lunch Rock is also nice because there are mountains that sort of obscure a true panoramic view of the area, which means the sun sets a bit earlier here than some other spots, which is appealing to someone like me who loves a 9 PM bedtime.
Lookout Trail
Lookout Mountain is located in Montreat, just north of Black Mountain, and has been a new addition to my regular hiking repertoire. I like it because, like Lunch Rock, it’s convenient. You could work a full day, have dinner at home, and still make it to Lookout Mountain for sunset. It’s a short hike but steep, and you’ll feel the burn when you’re done. I’ve done this one for sunset twice in the past few months, and both times I was the only person up there.
Hemingway’s Cuba
I think Hemingway’s Cuba is the top-tier restaurant sunset experience in Asheville. The views are unparalleled for a rooftop bar, and it only really is below Shakey’s on this list because to get an outside table and the best views, you need reservations. Hemingway’s isn’t really a spur-of-the-moment sunset space.
Bonus points: there’s a chance your sunset dinner could net you a cameo on a reality show most people have never heard of.
The Omni Grove Park Inn
I kind of fought the Omni sunset experience for a while. The first month I moved to Asheville, I went there on a sunset date, and while it was nice, I remember thinking it felt like a lot of pomp and circumstance for the sunset (aka the parking was a nightmare, and it was crowded). It was also a date with a man who, at one point, uttered the phrase “black and black crime” when explaining why he didn’t like Philadelphia, so maybe that colored my view, too.
Recently, though, I’ve had two nicer Omin sunset experiences. Maybe it’s because the company was better or because I Ubered and thus avoided the parking shenanigans, but I’ve come around on the Omni. Is it the best sunset view in the area? I don’t think so, but it’s an experience, and one I’ve found visitors really enjoy.
AshevilleExplorer 
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