The Ben F. Long IV Fresco Trail.

Fall 2026. Western North Carolina. Two ways to walk it.

The Journey

This is a journey into the mountains of western North Carolina, where one of the great living masters of fresco returned from Florence and painted sacred images on the walls of small country churches. The work is still there. We are going to see it.

Two Trails

Choose how far to walk.

Three to Four Days

The Short Trail

The essential experience. Three to four days centered on the two churches in West Jefferson and Glendale Springs where Ben F. Long IV painted the great mountain frescoes, with Asheville as the base for arriving, gathering, and departing.

  • Asheville
  • West Jefferson
  • Glendale Springs
Six to Seven Days

The Long Trail

The full trail. Six to seven days that begin with the Short Trail and add Blowing Rock, Montreat, Crossnore, and Wilkesboro, then close with a full day in Charlotte and Statesville for the secular and civic frescoes that finish the line.

  • Asheville
  • West Jefferson
  • Glendale Springs
  • Blowing Rock
  • Montreat
  • Crossnore
  • Wilkesboro
  • Charlotte and Statesville
Three to Four Days

The Short Trail. Day by day.

  1. Night 1

    Asheville. The Flat Iron Hotel.

    Welcome dinner together. The gathering begins. Breakfast on the hotel roof each morning.
  2. Day 2

    Asheville.

    Scheduled lunch together. Choose your afternoon: the Asheville Art Museum, the Botanical Gardens, or the evening serenity walk. Dinner on your own, we will send you where to go.
  3. Day 3

    Black Mountain.

    Black Mountain College tour together. Lunch in Black Mountain. Afternoon free. Dinner on your own.
  4. Day 4

    West Jefferson. The Historic Old Hotel.

    Morning drive from Asheville. Arrive, check in, lunch together. Free afternoon, walk the town, find the light, rest. Dinner on your own or in small groups.
  5. Day 5

    The Frescoes.

    St. Mary's Episcopal in West Jefferson and Holy Trinity Episcopal in Glendale Springs. The whole day, unhurried, together. Evening: dinner with a topic. A question worth sitting with after what you have seen.
  6. Day 6

    Charlotte.

    The Bank of America Corporate Center, the secular fresco permanent in the wall of one of America's largest financial institutions. Farewell lunch. Departures.
Six to Seven Days

The Long Trail. Day by day.

  1. Night 1

    Asheville. The Flat Iron Hotel.

    Welcome dinner together. The gathering begins. Breakfast on the hotel roof each morning.
  2. Day 2

    Asheville.

    Scheduled lunch together. Choose your afternoon: the Asheville Art Museum, the Botanical Gardens, or the evening serenity walk. Dinner on your own, we will send you where to go.
  3. Day 3

    Black Mountain.

    Black Mountain College tour together. Lunch in Black Mountain. Afternoon free. Dinner on your own.
  4. Day 4

    West Jefferson. The Historic Old Hotel.

    Morning drive from Asheville. Arrive, check in, lunch together. Free afternoon, walk the town, find the light, rest. Dinner on your own or in small groups.
  5. Day 5

    The Frescoes.

    St. Mary's Episcopal in West Jefferson and Holy Trinity Episcopal in Glendale Springs. The whole day, unhurried, together. Evening: dinner with a topic. A question worth sitting with after what you have seen.
  6. Day 6

    Charlotte.

    The Bank of America Corporate Center, the secular fresco permanent in the wall of one of America's largest financial institutions. Farewell lunch. Departures.
  7. Day 7

    Blowing Rock.

    Rumple Memorial Presbyterian Church. The Good Shepherd and Psalm 23. The town of Blowing Rock, where Ben Long and Tony Griffin spent summers together making art.
  8. Day 8

    Montreat and Crossnore.

    Chapel of the Prodigal at Montreat College. Return of the Prodigal. Then Crossnore School. Suffer the Little Children. Two of the most moving works on the trail.
  9. Day 9

    Wilkesboro.

    St. Paul's Episcopal Church. St. Paul's Conversion and St. Paul Writing His Epistles.
  10. Day 10

    Charlotte and Statesville. Full day.

    The Bank of America Corporate Center. The Statesville Civic Center. The Charlotte churches. The complete secular and civic arc of what Ben Long built beyond the mountains. Farewell dinner. Departures.

Journeys guided in English, French, Italian, and Spanish.

Each trail is for twenty people.

Express Interest