Trails | Rivers | Scenic Drives | WaterfallsYour Western North Carolina Home Base for Mountain Adventure
Half a mile from the Blue Ridge Parkway at Balsam Gap, the inn puts the best of the mountains within a short drive — trails, rivers, scenic drives, and waterfalls. Spend the day out there. Come home to 1908.
National Register of Historic Places | Breakfast Included
Home Base for Mountain Adventure Since 1908
Half a mile from the Blue Ridge Parkway — and a short drive from the trails, rivers, and waterfalls of Western North Carolina.
When guests stepped off the train in 1908, they came for the same thing you do — the mountain air, the peaks and ridges, the chance to get out into some of the oldest mountains on earth. The inn has always been the place you set out from and the place you come back to. Head out for whatever adventures suit you; the room, the bar, and the porch will be here when you're done.
Hiking Trails
Hike some of the highest peaks in the East
The Great Balsams hold some of the loftiest ground on the whole Blue Ridge Parkway, and the trailheads are minutes out the door. Walk a quiet half-mile loop or set out for a summit.
Waterrock Knob (Parkway MP 451) — a short, steep climb to a 6,000-ft summit and a four-state view. About 10 minutes up the Parkway.
Richland Balsam (MP 431) — the highest point on the entire Parkway; an easy spruce-fir loop near the clouds.
Graveyard Fields (MP 418) — waterfalls, open meadows, and summer blueberries on an easy, beloved loop.
Pinnacle Park & the Mountains-to-Sea Trail — local favorites near Sylva for a longer day adventuring on foot.
Rivers | Creeks | Streams
Cold Mountain Water - Float it, fish it, or run the whitewater.
Drift a lazy afternoon on the Tuckasegee, cast for trout in the morning fog, or chase real whitewater on the Nantahala — then bring the river stories back to the porch. Fish tales welcome.
Tuckasegee River (Dillsboro / Bryson City) — gentle tubing and easy paddling, family-friendly, about 20 minutes away.
Nantahala River — classic Class II–III whitewater rafting in the Nantahala Gorge; outfitters run trips daily in season.
Fly-fishing — wild and stocked trout on the Tuckasegee and nearby Western NC Fly Fishing Trail waters.
Davidson & Pigeon rivers — more renowned trout and paddling water within an easy drive.
Scenic Drives
Half a mile from the Blue Ridge Parkway at Balsam Gap & Within Easy reach of the Cherohala Skyway and the Tail of the Dragon
You're half a mile from one of the most scenic stretches of the Blue Ridge Parkway — and within reach of the legendary mountain roads riders and drivers come from all over to chase. Top down, windows open, a different overlook around every bend.
Blue Ridge Parkway at Balsam Gap (MP 443.1) — overlooks, picnic spots, and the Parkway's highest stretches, right out the driveway.
Cherohala Skyway — 43 miles of high, sweeping mountain road between NC and TN; a bucket-list drive.
The Tail of the Dragon (US 129) — 318 curves in 11 miles; a pilgrimage for motorcyclists and sports-car drivers.
Newfound Gap Road — the scenic crossing through Great Smoky Mountains National Park toward Cherokee and Gatlinburg.