Carrier Park Velodrome

This is hands down the craziest, coolest, multi-​purpose park I’ve ever been to! There’s beach volleyball, a playground that is designed like a medieval castle, a small roller hockey rink, a large basketball court, soccer field, baseball field, lawn bowling, a bicycle track (where I heard they have weekly bike races), a huge open field, picnic benches, and probably other stuff I can’t remember because it’s so freaking awesome! Plus, it’s right next to the French Broad River and I saw a little place where I think you can rent boats when the weather warms up. This park is INSANE. Only con, I recently picked up the one sport they don’t have a court for… tennis! Although, it’s possible there’s one but I was too distracted to see it.

Asheville has a ton of nice outdoor areas, but this multi-​use park truly has something for everyone. My little guy was drawn to the giant wooden castle playground like a moth to a flame, while my mother enjoyed walking the path by the water and I got a kick out of the cyclists on the race track. We walked into the park the first time, and we were confused about the location of the playground. It’s behind the velodrome, which has its own parking area. The footprint of the park is huge, with a different parking area in front of the open field and picnic area — so if you’re looking for the playground, use the other parking area!

Carrier park has a lot to see and do, but if you are coming here expecting the high sloped walls of a traditional velodrome you are going to be very disappointed. The affectionately named Mellowdrome used to be a car track, thus it is designed to accommodate stock cars and not the much more nimble bicycle.
That being said the vibe here is far less pretentious than most tracks, people of all skill levels are free to ride and it is not uncommon to see a 5 year old with training wheels out on the track. There are frequent races which is fun as a spectator, but you will never see the totally bizarre sport that is one on one sprints (the slowest, then fastest sport), the track is just not sloped enough.
Still, it’s a lovely place to bring the family, or the dog, or a family of dogs.

This review is for Carrier Park as a whole, not just the Velodrome.
I love, love, love Carrier Park. It is a good sized park that follows along the French Broad River and has a variety of beautiful scenic spots, sports venues, a dog park, and places to put in your tube/​canoe on the river. It is a great place to go alone to run, bike, take a nap, paint, swing, walk, or just people watch and is equally as great of a place to go with friends/​family to play volleyball, kickball, bike polo, ride bikes, tube down the river, and play with the dogs.
There are grills and picnic tables for a little grill out, there are plenty of places to bring a blanket and read a book, benches to watch the river, and paved trails to get some exercise.
One of my favorite places in Asheville. A great spot for a free date with your sweetheart, some good family time or to seek solo meditation. Wonderful.

Very cool park!
I don’t go to parks much, but this is great. Lots of variety with a great biking area! We went to watch a softball game and was impressed. Several ball fields for various sports, biking area, walking area and plenty of parking.
I’ve never seen a park with a Velodrome before and was impressed. Lots of bikes there the day we went.

This is a great place to go running.
It’s a little over a mile if you use the outside loop that goes by the river.
Be sure to check out the schedule for the bike races that happen, they are fun to watch.

Im rating this as a park and not the velodrome only. It is a great park. I’d like more soccer fields but a great playground for my boy. Walking paths near the river and this cool bike velodrome on what is a historic NASCAR track. That is pretty freakin cool, huh?

I’m dating a trackster but I’m not into racing myself. This means I spend copious amounts of time at the track… watching. Waiting. Hooting and hollering. It’s all fun and games but nothing sucks more than when you do so at a barren track with other «lady friends.» I’m usually the loudest and that’s a lonely place to be. This is not the case at Asheville’s velodrome.
The Mellodrome is by far and away the most fun track to be a spectator. People love watching bike races in this town (former home of the Tour DuPont). You can tell because this track is so fan-​friendly. There’s a pedestrian bridge over the track so you can cross comfortably at all times and take great pictures off of. The MC’s are hilarious and get the crowd involved. They are especially tickled with out-​of-​towners. Expect lots of shout-​outs if your not a Southerner (which is rare in the South).
This is a kid-​friendly environment with a playground and lots of room to run around. The track also has a fantastic training program for kids. I’ve never seen so many kids 8 – 15 on fixies. The Mellowdrome is a cultural experience in Asheville that must not be missed!

The Mellowdrome is a very cool ex-​NASCAR short track (you heard it right!) that is now a slightly-​banked velodrome, right near downtown Asheville. Allegedly Dale Sr., Richard Petty, and other greats of stock-​car racing used to battle it out on this half-​mile sorta-​circle (hard to tell from ground level, but looks ovalesque).
Now instead of unmuffled V8s and Busch light, there’s a unpretentious bike racing scene, featuring some fast dudes on some interesting «hardware» (bamboo, mmm?) and custom Lynskey titanium, for example.
Racing is a few trivial bucks and happens every thursday eve. I rented a bike at Hearn’s in Asheville and had a great time racing with the locals. Didn’t beat ‘em and didn’t get blown out either, which is fine by me. Check it out!