Father's Day Play Date in Asheville

Planning to buy Dad another pair of funny socks or a coffee mug for Father’s Day? Mix things up this year! Instead of spending money on Father’s Day gifts that will sit in a drawer somewhere, give him the gift of an experience! Bring him to Asheville for his big day and enjoy all that our mountains have to offer. Lantern Lodge will supply the lodging; the hard part is deciding which of the following popular activities your dad will enjoy the most.

Active Dads

Adventure Center of Asheville

Take Dad up high with ziplining, climbing, or biking at the facility with several Asheville adventure parks, including Canopy Ziplines, KidZip, Treetops Adventure Park, and Kolo Bike Park with mountain bike & E-Bike rentals. On June 21, dads can visit the Treetops Park or KidZip FREE with paying family members. Use code “dads2026” when booking online.

Fiddlehead

Fiddlehead (formerly Riveter) is a climbing gym, bike park, and fitness studio. The climbing gym is a 16,000-square-foot facility with auto-belays, ropes, boulders, plus a kids' area. The bike park features hills and valleys of dirt in both a covered area and an outdoor area. Forgot the bike at home? Rent one here, as well as pads and helmets. Once you’re done climbing or riding, enjoy the Fern Cafe for coffee or smoothies.

Admission prices vary by activity, and reservations are available but not required. Fair warning: The facility is closed on Saturdays, and you will need to sign a waiver prior to participating, so filling one out online before you go is advised.

Asheville Tourists

Catch an Asheville Tourists game at HomeTrust with the whole family. The Tourists is our minor league Advanced-A affiliate team of the Houston Astros. A game at the field offers all the fun, food, and home runs that a major league game does, as well as a chance to see rising stars before they hit the big leagues.

Take a Hike

Of course, our area is renowned for its many hiking and biking trails throughout the Blue Ridge Parkway and Pisgah Forest, among other spots throughout the mountains. Take a look at our guide to Asheville hikes.

Gamer Dads

Asheville Pinball Museum

The advent of video game arcades and home consoles may have led to a reduction in pinball game popularity, but the game of silver balls and fast flippers has made a comeback at the Asheville Pinball Museum. Although it’s considered a museum because of the age of some of the machines on the floor, there are 80 machines - 40 pinball and 40 classic arcade video games - available to play for a one-time admission fee that is good all day.

Asheville Retrocade

Don’t be fooled by the size of the exterior of this arcade - inside is filled to the brim with the sights and sounds of 80’s nostalgia. Take a trip back to the time before PS5 and play more than 5,000 video games, as well as pinball, billiards, foosball, and more at the Retrocade. Play as much as you want for one price all day, and enjoy craft beer, wine, or soda at the bar or outdoor patio.

Level 256 Classic Arcade Bar

For just $10, you and Dad can spend the day playing old-school video games and drinking local craft brews in the South Slope neighborhood of Asheville. With over 30 arcade games, pinball machines, and 300 original console games, the whole family is sure to find something to play. The list of games is extensive and can be found here. The arcade is open every day except Monday.

Musical Dads

The Moogseum

The Moogseum is a one-of-a-kind immersive, interactive museum that is a project of the Bob Moog Foundation. Bob Moog was the inventor of the synthesizer and lived in Asheville for the last 25 years of his life. The museum is a testament to his invention and features a “hands-on” synthesizer and theremin gallery where you can explore the sounds made by those instruments, as well as exhibits about how electricity becomes sound, the science behind synthesis, and the history of the synthesizer. It’s open Monday through Sunday from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Record Stores

If Dad’s a vinyl collector, you’ll have no problem finding his favorites at one of Asheville’s record shops. If he likes a side of art with his tunes, check out Records in the RAD, in the city’s River Arts District. Downtown’s Static Age Records features used vinyl and live performances from national touring musicians, and West Asheville staple Harvest Records carries new and used vinyl, cassettes, and CDs, as well as audio equipment, books, and more for the discerning music lover.