Photos by John Cayton and the Cabin at Squirrel Creek
A painter’s palette of reds, oranges and yellows cover the landscape in the fall. Trucks pass by stacked high with felled Christmas trees from local farms in the winter. Rushing waterfalls sing in the spring, and a rainbow of hard-to-find species of rhododendron and mountain laurel pop out of mountainsides in the summer. Any time of year, it’d be fair to mistake the Cabin at Squirrel Creek for the setting of a storybook. For the weekend, it can be your very own mountain-magic getaway.
Situated above the banks of Squirrel Creek in the Blue Ridge Mountains of North Carolina, this two-bedroom, two-bathroom rental invites visitors to experience the essence of cabin living. Before ever stepping foot inside (where charm abounds), the natural beauty of the region will sweep you off your feet.
“For us, it’s the views. It’s the outdoors. It’s the hiking, the waterfalls, the sweeping vistas,” explains Elizabeth White, the current owner, who purchased the cabin to rent out now and retire in one day.
The cabin gets its name from the rushing creek just below, where 1,200 feet of hatchery-supported trout stream invite fishers to come cast a line. The creek is stocked with pan-size yearling trout from the State Trout Farm near Morganton beginning in May. (“The best bait for fishing trout in the creek includes night-crawler earthworms or hellgrammites, the aquatic larvae of the Dobson fly, which trout love as this is one of their natural foods,” writes Sam Bolick, the previous owner.) Nearby, hikes to epic waterfalls and mountain vistas are aplenty, from Grandfather Mountain to Linville Gorge to the famous Appalachian Trail.
Yet, as much as the outdoors have to offer, the cabin’s interiors have charm to match. Originally built in late 1980s, the cabin gets its character from much older materials, like 125-year-old pine, oak and poplar logs from historic Virginia barns. Inside, the interior walls on the first floor are covered with wormy chestnut. The floors are made from heart pine from the original owner’s great-great-great-grandfather’s country store in Fairfield County, South Carolina.
Together, the idyllic setting and perfectly appointed interiors make for a rental getaway that’s better than a storybook. The cozy cabin sleeps six guests across two bedrooms and two bathrooms and is outfitted with modern creature comforts like central air and a highly functional kitchen. And while the cabin boasts hi-speed Wi-Fi, Elizabeth notes the cell service in the area is spotty. For many, that might be just the break from reality that’s needed.
Book Your Trip
Learn more and book a stay at the Cabin at Squirrel Creek by visiting squirrelcreekcabin.com
