Quiet Blue Ridge Mountains living north of Hendersonville
Balfour is a small community in the Blue Ridge Mountains of southwestern North Carolina. It was once home to a booming granite quarry, which supplied the stone for Asheville’s famous Biltmore Estate, then a bustling textile mill. Today, it’s a rural area with little but homes and sweeping mountain views. “It’s basically Hendersonville now, though it used to be its own little town,” says Taryn Schneider of The Boulders Realty, primary broker for The Boulders gated community in north Balfour. “The draw is definitely the views. But you’re not in the middle of nowhere, it’s only 10 minutes to Main Street in downtown Hendersonville,” she says.
Classic ranch-style homes and mountaintop estates
New Traditional, cabin-like cottages and ranch-style homes sit on large lots, set far back from the street by broad, often wooded front yards. Prices start close to $310,000 and climb to about $675,000. Contemporary and Frank Lloyd Wright-inspired mountaintop estates sell for between $1.3 and $2.4 million. The Boulders is the only gated development in the area, situated on the north side. “It’s half a mile up the mountain, so you’ve got views and the air is cooler,” Schneider says.
Heavy rains and hurricanes cause the creeks in the area to flood. “During Hurricane Helene, Balfour flooded really badly. All of Henderson County was completely devastated, and we’re still recovering from the floods and the landslides,” says Jennie Giles, a lifelong Henderson County local. Helene made landfall in Florida as a Category 4 hurricane before blowing through Henderson County as a tropical storm in September 2024. “The creek floods all the time, but Hurricane Helene was a once-in-a-century flood. The worst one we’ve had since the 1910s,” Giles says.
Recreation at Berkeley Ball Park, Mills River, DuPont State Forest
Berkeley Ball Park was built in the 1940s as the home field for the Berkeley Spinners, a team comprising employees of the local textile mill. Today, it’s home to the Hendersonville Honeycrisps, a summer-league collegiate team. The field was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 2016. “It’s very historic, and Hendersonville is doing a lot of work there, developing picnic shelters and such,” Giles says. The Oklawaha Greenway is a 3.5-mile trail that connects the ballpark to several parks in Hendersonville. Mills River Park and North Mills River Campground & Recreation Area are within 13 miles of Balfour. The park has a playground and fishing areas. Fishing is also available in the larger recreation area, along with biking, horseback riding and seasonal hunting.
Highly rated Henderson County Public Schools
Balfour is zoned to Henderson County Public Schools, which serves over 12,000 students with an average student-teacher ratio of 15 to 1. It earns a B-plus from Niche. School choice is available through the district’s open transfer policy, but many students go to Clear Creek Elementary, Hendersonville Middle and Hendersonville High. The elementary and middle schools earn B-plus grades from Niche. Hendersonville High, which gets an A-minus, offers the Blue Ridge Scholars dual enrollment program in partnership with Blue Ridge Community College.
Limited shopping/dining in Balfour
Shopping and dining options in Balfour are limited to a small section of strip malls on Asheville Boulevard. “As far as a downtown or business district, Hendersonville is the only place to go,” Giles says. Downtown Hendersonville is filled with attractions like the Appalachian Pinball Museum and the Hands On! Children’s Museum. The Blue Ridge Beer Garden is a vintage gas station-turned-pub, popular for local hops, lawn games and food trucks. West First serves thin-crust, wood-fired pizzas, pasta and more. The Blue Ridge Mall area in north Hendersonville has chain restaurants and retailers, including Outback Steakhouse, Aldi and Belk. The mall is about 3 miles from Balfour.
Quick commuting to Hendersonville and Asheville
Apple Country Public Transit provides bus service to Henderson County, with stops in Balfour along Asheville Highway. U.S. Route 64 connects southwest toward Pisgah National Forest and northeast to Edneyville. Asheville is more than 20 miles north. The drive takes less than 40 minutes with no traffic on Interstate 26. Asheville Regional Airport is only 8 miles north, a little farther than the AdventHealth Hendersonville hospital and emergency room. Pardee Hospital, in central Hendersonville, is less than 3 miles away.
