Western North Carolina: Maggie Valley

We can’t get enough of Western North Carolina! As you can see from our other North Carolina posts, we spent quite a lot of time here. We just love, love, love it.

What we haven’t done yet is show you where our main base of operations was! During all of these little day trips, we had to be coming from somewhere, right? I mean, in theory – and in practicality – we had to be sleeping somewhere. And that place, friends, was the town of Maggie Valley.

While we did plan on visiting Maggie Valley, we weren’t originally staying here. Our original booking was in the town of Waynesville, but it turned out to be an utter disaster with a terribly irresponsible homeowner. That place was a dump and the owner didn’t want to make it better, so we got the hell out.

Fortunately, we had previously talked to some property owners in Maggie Valley, and the wonderful Anna at the Haywood County TDA helped us lock something down. So, while we love Waynesville, the house was not for us – or most people, actually – and we moved to Maggie Valley after a couple of days.

And guess what? We’re sooooo glad we did. Maggie Valley is situated in the far west of the state, about 30-45 minutes west of Asheville. It’s at the foot of both the Great Smoky Mountains National Park and the Nantahala National Forest. It’s in the mountains. But it’s also a valley, so it gets great views and warm summer temperatures. I was feelin’ it. I mean, really. I was in love.

There’s a whole lot to do here in Maggie Valley, despite its unassuming and non-commercial look. Most of the activities are of the outdoor nature, so these things aren’t readily visible in town. And that’s the beauty of it. They’ve managed to keep out pretty much every chain, so we can eat local and drink local and hang out with locals.

There is an automotive museum and a small ski area. And, it’s home to Folkmoot USA. And yeah, there are tourists like us. No doubt about it. But for the most part, it’s a spot to relax. It’s got nature and quiet and not too much traffic. It’s basically the exact opposite of the insanity of the Gatlinburg area directly across the mountains in Tennessee. It’s chill. And we love chill.

The town is more like a small highway through the valley, with cabins, small hotels, restaurants, and some shops.

So, what’d we do? Well, we relaxed. We also took a lot of day trips. But, we relaxed. A lot. In awe of all the things surrounding us.

Besides all of the day trips we took, there were, in fact, some things to do in town. Given our close proximity to the fairgrounds, we had an easy time popping over to the craft fair that goes on during the summer. People from all over come to sell their wares, and there are quite a lot of really, really interesting and great items here.

And nice people, too!

As we do, we hit the local coffee shop at least once a day. We were so happy to find that such a small town has a local coffee shop, as we’ve had trouble finding them in various cities on our journeys. Of course, the best part was that they actually know how to make a damn fine espresso. Unfortunately, that’s harder to come by than you might think.

Thanks to Christine & company at Organic Beans for all the good times and delicious, caffeinated beverages!

There are a lot of great places to eat here, but we managed to only capture the insanely good Italian cuisine at Frankie’s. Get in on it, it’s serious business.

Outside of the myriad of day trips and nature hunts we went on – read about those here – we also headed down toward the entrance to the Blue Ridge Parkway to check out Soco Falls.

While it was kind of difficult to find, and a little bit of a climb down to get to, it was well worth it.

It’s like a little oasis in the middle of the forest.

Back in Maggie Valley, we stopped a lot. Because…come on, man!

We even found a little house we wanted because of the insane views.

The house needed work, but – woo-wee – I could sit here all day.

Speaking of houses, where did we end up staying, anyway?

There are more than a handful of cabins and cottages in Maggie Valley. The one we found that had very nice people and all the amenities we wanted – including pet-friendliness – was Smoky View Cottages.

Pam and the gang here were very friendly, and we enjoyed our stay in this small cabin area on the creek, which also hosts RVers.

While the cottages are great for short stays, I think they’d be way too small for most “normal” folks. Not for us, though! We both decided that this 400 sq. ft., one-bedroom cabin would be just enough for us to actually live in.

Probably not enough room for you! But, it’s plenty for us and we could totally do it. Especially with the porch and the views.

Just the spot for me, says…me!

We put Louis in the bedroom TV stand. He was rather perplexed.

Smoky View is entirely family friendly, with the previously shown pool and a kids area. We highly recommend it; tell Pam and Loagin we said hi!

If they allowed it, I’d really consider buying one of these cabins here. As I said before, I love it!

And that’s a wrap from Maggie Valley!

Be sure to check out our other North Carolina posts, as well as our Fabric of America ones.

A very special and very big thanks to Anna at the Haywood County TDA, for showing us the ropes, giving us great advice, and for being a wonderful person. Thanks as well to Big John for schooling us at the TDA office, to Pam and Loagin at Smoky View Cottages, and to Christine and her lovely crew at Organic Beans.

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Have you ever been to Maggie Valley? If so, what’d you think? If not, what say ye? Let us know your thoughts in the comments!