This is not your average starter home. Not by a long shot!
If your RV itinerary takes you through western North Carolina, Biltmore Estate should be on your radar. It’s America’s biggest house.
Opulent and spacious
I can just imagine a realtor attempting to write a real estate listing for the Biltmore House:
“Massive estate home nestled in Asheville’s beautiful Blue Ridge Mountain setting. Seen by appointment only.”
The good news is that the Biltmore House is open for tours—though certainly not for sale! America’s largest home is set on an 8,000-acre estate and boasts 250 rooms. (Huge even by mansion standards.) Biltmore House spans about 175,000 square feet and contains 35 bedrooms, 43 bathrooms, and 65 fireplaces.
Some of the most talked-about spaces are the Winter Garden, which serves as an inviting indoor courtyard. There’s also the Banquet Hall with its 40-foot-long table and the library, which holds about half of George Vanderbilt’s 20,000-volume personal collection.
A bit of history
The story starts with George Washington Vanderbilt II. After visiting Asheville in 1888, he decided the mountain area was the right place for his country home. He purchased the land and brought in architect Richard Morris Hunt and landscape architect Frederick Law Olmsted to shape the house and grounds.
Construction began in 1889, and the finished house first opened to family and friends on Christmas Eve in 1895. The project took about six years from start to finish, and it was originally built as Vanderbilt’s private retreat rather than a showpiece for strangers.
Highlights
Fans of house-museums are rightfully awed by the Biltmore House. Aside from the sheer size of the massive mansion (4 acres of floor space!), special features give a glimpse into the personality of the owner. Hidden doors, designed to blend in with the architecture, provided staff discreet access throughout the manse. Secret passages were built to link the library to other rooms and a concealed opening in the floor opened into the Winter Garden.
The house also preserves an original collection of more than 92,000 items. These include opulent art and furniture, as well as architectural drawings. Today, Biltmore maintains an in-house conservation effort to help protect it all.
From private to public
As for how this French Renaissance château became a place ordinary visitors can tour, the shift happened in stages. Biltmore was completed in 1895 and served as George Vanderbilt’s home for three years, as a bachelor!
In 1898, George and his bride, Edith, came to live at Biltmore. Their daughter, Cornelia, was born in the home in 1900.
George Vanderbilt died in 1914. In 1930, Cornelia and her then-husband, John Cecil, opened Biltmore House to the public to support area tourism and generate income for the home’s preservation.
Today, the house remains a National Historic Landmark and a major tourist destination. With the addition of barns, stables, extensive gardens, and a winery, America’s largest house is ready to welcome you.
Places to stay
For RVers, the smart move is staying nearby and visiting the estate with a tow vehicle. Here are a few choices for your consideration:
- Campfire Lodgings has full hookups, Wi-Fi, private bathrooms, laundry, picnic tables, and fire rings. It’s nestled in a mountain setting about 10 minutes from downtown Asheville.
- Mama Gertie’s Hideaway Campground is another favorite. It’s located in Swannanoa, just minutes from Asheville and Black Mountain. This RV park features secluded views, trails, a camp store, a dog park, and free Wi-Fi.
- Rutledge Lake/Asheville RV Park Resort sits about 15 miles south of Asheville. It welcomes RVers with full-hookup sites, a heated full-size pool, a playground, a recreation hall, a camp store, and a fishing lake with paddle boats and canoes.
More to see and do
Once you have Biltmore on the itinerary, it is easy to fill the rest of the trip. Explore Asheville’s official Things to Do page, which is a good place to start for downtown stops, outdoor adventures, events, food, and more ideas around the Asheville area.
Hours and location
- Address: 1 Lodge Street, Asheville, NC 28803
- Phone: 800-411-3812
- Biltmore is open every day. Hours vary daily. View hours here.
- Ticket pricing varies by experience. See all experiences and prices here.
Paired with other Asheville-area activities, Biltmore House makes a memorable and enjoyable destination. Start planning your trip today!
Virtual tour
Can’t make it to the Estate? Take a virtual tour in this video.
RELATED
- Discovering North Carolina’s Scottish roots
- Bayernhof Music Museum: A quirky ‘must-see’ near Pittsburgh
- A visit to America’s oldest museum
- A visit to the Cloud Museum—a private collection of vintage machinery
RVT1270
We went there years ago and because we were riding our motorcycle they told us to not use the parking lot but go directly to the driveway of the house. Very short walk for us. The house is so impressive and massive, but made up of countless small rooms. Different lifestyle in those times. Even the indoor swimming pool had just enough room around it for one person to walk. On the other hand, the his and her master bedrooms, yes there are two, are beyond spacious. If I was in the area with a full day to use I would visit it again.
Well worth a visit.