The North Carolina Arboretum sits on 434 acres on the southwestern edge of the city, tucked into the Pisgah National Forest at the end of the Bent Creek valley. It is younger than it looks — founded in 1986 — but the land was originally part of Frederick Law Olmsted's plan for the Vanderbilt estate, and the layout has the gentle, designed feel of an Olmsted landscape.
The bonsai collection is one of the best in the country: more than two hundred trees, several of them more than a century old, displayed in a dedicated exhibition garden. Trails connect it to the rest of the Bent Creek system, and the arboretum is the trailhead for some good easy mountain biking. Excellent for kids on a rainy afternoon thanks to the indoor exhibit hall.