Secret Falls, Highlands NC

Check out Secret Falls near Highlands, North Carolina. It's an easy hike in the Nantahala National Forest to this beautiful swimming hole. For driving directions and hike details, go to http://www.romanticasheville.com/secret-falls.htm.

Skinny Dip Falls, Blue Ridge Parkway

Watch the fun at one of the most idyllic swimming holes in the North Carolina mountains. Skinny Dip Falls is a short hike from the Blue Ridge Parkway, near Looking Glass Rock. See more info at http://www.romanticasheville.com/skinny_dip_falls.htm.

Sliding Rock, North Carolina

Watch the fun at Sliding Rock yesterday. This very popular natural slide in Pisgah National Forest near Brevard and Asheville has been a favorite summer swimming hole for generations. Saturdays in July are always the busiest days of the year, so it's best to arrive before 11 AM to get a parking spot. Often on July Saturday afternoons, they have to close the gates after the parking lot is beyond capacity. Lifeguards are on duty for another month and changing rooms will stay open through Labor Day weekend. Get more updates and tips for visiting Sliding Rock at www.romanticasheville.com/sliding_rock_north_carolina.htm

Asheville Hotels Recycle Soaps & Shampoo

Discarded soap and bottled amenities left behind by guests at the DoubleTree by Hilton Asheville-Biltmore and Hilton Asheville Biltmore Park now have a second life thanks to a recycling program from Clean the World that helps fight the spread of preventable diseases.

Used soap and plastic amenity bottles from both hotels’ 362 rooms are shipped to a Clean the World Recycling Operations Center, where they are sanitized and repurposed. Clean the World’s simple mission is to recycle hotel soap and save lives. The organization has partnered with more than 4,000 hotels and resorts to put life-saving hygiene products in the hands of those who need them most.

About 2 million children under the age of 5 die every year due to hygiene-related illnesses. Hand washing with soap is a low-cost intervention that can reduce those deaths by almost 50 percent. Since 2009, Clean the World has distributed more than 25 million bars of soap in 99 countries.

"Sustainability is a major focus for hotels," said Shawn Seipler, CEO and co-founder of Clean the World. "We estimate the North American lodging industry throws away more than a million bars of soap each day. By recycling soap and bottled amenities, Biltmore Farms Hotels is having a positive effect from both an environmental and humanitarian perspective."

The Hilton Asheville Biltmore Park in one of the greenest built hotels in the area, awarded LEED Sliver Certification by the United States Green Building Council and verified by the Green Building Certification Institute.

Read more about these and other Asheville NC Hotels.

Bryson City, Great Smoky Mountains

Bryson City is our favorite small town in the North Carolina mountains. Located adjacent to the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, outdoors things to do are limitless - including whitewater rafting, tubing, hiking, horseback riding, zip lines, scenic drives and more. Plus, it's home to the Great Smoky Mountains Railroad with daily train excursions. See more at www.romanticasheville.com/bryson_city.htm.