The town of Waynesville, about 40 minutes west of Asheville, may not seem that it’s on the cutting edge of anything. It feels more nestled in the mountains than other towns in the region because you can see peaks from just about anywhere on Main Street. Most people come to Waynesville to stroll downtown and shop, or to attend the annual Folkmoot festival, a two-week celebration of world music and folk dancing in July. There’s also the annual Apple Harvest Festival, happening in downtown Waynesville October 18. But there’s more to Waynesville than apples and folk dancing. A new wellness center with a juice bar will open in a few months, there’s a new wine bar downtown, and in the Frog Level district, you can see the beginnings of an artist-led renaissance.   

For a sampling of what Waynesville has to offer, stop first at the Waynesville Country Club Inn and Resort (176 Country Club Dr., 828-456-3551, www.wccinn.com). Built in 1926, the sprawling compound features three nine-hole golf courses and several restaurants. And in the true spirit of neighborliness, it’s open to the public. Just a few miles down picturesque Old Balsam Road sits another town monument, the Barber Orchards Fruit Stand (2855 Old Balsam Road, 828-456-3598). In business since 1932, and more of a giant market than a simple stand, they sell apple cakes, pies, turnovers, muffins, jams, honey, fresh cider, pumpkins and a variety of fresh vegetables.  

If you didn’t fill up on fruits and veggies, head into downtown to Main Street and you’ll find one of Waynesville’s tastiest treasures—Whitman’s Bakery and Sandwich Shop (18 N. Main St., 828-456-8271). Started in 1935, this mainstay of Main Street attracts customers from all over the country. “I’ve seen people come from Florida to get a few loaves of our bread,” says employee Amy Thacker. The apple fritters are popular too, she says, and it’s easy to see why—they’re huge, and at $2.50 each, you can’t go wrong. But don’t quit yet—loosen your belt and check out one of Waynesville’s oldest continuously-operating restaurants, the Old Stone Inn Mountain Lodge and Restaurant (109 Dolan Rd., 828-456-3333). Established in 1946, it’s known for rustic rooms and rich dishes like pecan-baked brie and crab cakes. 

Had enough food? Then head into town, where there are two new home-décor stores just a few doors down from the bakery on Main Street. Firefly Cabin (26 N. Main St., 828-456-8888, www.fireflycabin.com), which opened its doors last February, sells leather couches alongside tables and chairs made from tree stumps. Accentuations (162 N. Main St., 828-456-6200), with its more cosmopolitan take on home furnishings, moved in at about the same time. The newest addition to Waynesville (so new, in fact, that interior walls are still being built) is Lavender Bleu Wellness (102 N. Main St., 828-550-0675). Opening in the next few months, owner Leslie Walker has big plans for the place. Concentrating on healthy foods and lifestyles, Walker will install a juice bar, offer cooking classes and rent space to wellness practitioners. A garden café is in the works as well. If you’d prefer the healthy effects of wine, around the corner on Church Street is the new Vin Wine Bar (20 Church St., 828-452-6000), which serves cheese, salads and snacks like empanadas and bruschetta with its wines. A new addition to Vin, The Wine Cellar is a cozy, comfortable, underground environment for sneaking a quick glass of grapey bliss.

For a bit more grit, go to the Frog Level (an area so named for its low-lying location along Richland Creek—the “frog level” when the area flooded). The Frog Level, long ignored and left vacant, is continuing the transformation it began in the late 1990s, with some shops, like the Panacea Coffee House, and galleries, like Leapin’ Frog, migrating there because of the low rents and available storefronts. Growing more every year, this area has all the signs of continuing its renaissance, spurred on by local artists looking to make their mark. Walk around Frog Level a while and you may get a similar vibe to that of Asheville’s River Arts District, only on a smaller—perhaps frog-sized—scale.

Before you leave town, stop by the Wheels Through Time Museum (62 Vintage Lane, Maggie Valley), which has hundreds of rare and vintage motorcycles and automobiles.  The popular museum is relocating to Arizona at the end of November, so there are only a few weeks left. 

Waynesville may not be the first place to look for nightlife and even some afternoons in downtown are quiet enough to put a visitor to sleep. But for the most part, the past and the future seem to hang together well in this mountain town, making it well worth a visit.