The Backyard of This Hotel Is America’s Favorite National Park

This article originally appeared on Outside

The puzzle in the living room of The Swag is mind-bendingly hard. The fire is roaring, and I'm nursing a cocktail while I work through hundreds of carved wooden pieces, so I'm not exactly suffering as I try to build an image of a pig (or is it a peacock?) with no picture for guidance. I'm convinced I'll achieve spiritual enlightenment if I finish it, so I'm tempted to work on this puzzle all day, but there are hikes to be done. Vistas to view. And I have to make it back for afternoon tea and cookies, so I should really get moving.

Therein lies the beautiful juxtaposition of The Swag, a collection of luxurious cabins and lodge rooms that shares a border with Great Smoky Mountains National Park: There's all kinds of outdoor adventure to be had in its backyard, from fly-fishing remote trout streams inside the park, to leaf-peeping old-growth tulip poplars, to hiking the trails on its own private 250 acres. But you could also just fill your stay with leisurely pursuits between meals, like soaking in the grand hot tub, which overlooks a pond; playing croquet; taking advantage of the spa; or, yes, focusing on a puzzle. The Swag could give you an existential crisis if you didn't already have a firm grasp on your own identity. Do I explore? Or do I lounge? Who am I?

The hotel sits atop the Cataloochee Divide, a 5,000-foot-high ridgeline that shares its eastern border with the national park. The location couldn't be more perfect if you've come to see the amazing fall colors: hike to two different high-elevation balds with 50-mile views of the tallest mountains east of the Mississippi without even leaving the premises.

The Swag was named after the saddle between those two balds. Originally a family home built in the 1970s, it opened as a hotel in 1982 in time to entertain guests attending the World's Fair in Knoxville, Tennessee (95 miles away) who wanted a retreat to explore the wild southern Appalachians. After extensive renovations in 2018, the rustic lodge was tapped as a Relais & Chateaux member in 2020 and is now considered one of the premiere destinations in the South.

Today the all-inclusive property successfully straddles the line between opulence and down-home comfort without feeling ostentatious. Imagine if your grandmother had generational wealth, exceptional taste, and lived to spoil you--that's what a stay at The Swag feels like.

Adventure Intel

You could never leave the expansive property and find plenty to do. Earlier this month, my wife and I spent an afternoon hiking the two-mile Nature Loop Trail below the lodge; it passes by a waterfall and wends through rhododendron tunnels before popping out at Gooseberry Knob, a rolling mountaintop meadow with endless views of Maggie Valley below. (Sunrise at Gooseberry is a life-affirming event). Anglers can head to the stocked pond, making a stop at its tackle shed, complete with spinning rods. And of course, there are lawn games galore.

But one of the most special aspects of The Swag is that it shares a mile-long border with Great Smoky Mountains National Park--the two properties are separated by a wooden fence built when the park was established in 1940--so you can literally step out the back door of the main lodge and explore one of the least crowded corners of America's most visited national park. I recommend hiking or running a three-mile loop southwest along the Cataloochee Divide Trail that begins at the lodge; it crosses over 5,556-foot Hemphill Bald and takes in an incredible panorama, all the way to the distant Black Mountains. Hemphill was once home to a sheep farm but is now a working cattle ranch, so close the gate behind you when you enter and leave the meadow.

For a bigger adventure, head deeper into the national park on a loop called Big Trees Around the Block. It combines the Cataloochee Divide, McKee Branch, Caldwell Fork, and Hemphill Bald Trails for an 8.5-mile excursion with more than 2,000 feet of gain that delivers you to the remnants of a farmstead community that existed well before the park was designated. Bring your fly rod and spend some time casting into Caldwell Fork Creek, populated by healthy native brook trout.

Choice Cabins

The Swag's 11 guest rooms are divided between two lodges and seven cabins. I stayed in Annie's Room, designed with a king-size bed, a stone fireplace, and a bathroom with a soaking tub and steam shower. The porch overlooks the croquet lawn and has sunrise views and its own outdoor shower.

If you're looking to spread out, I suggest Trinity Cottage, which has three master suites and can sleep up to eight. Two private balconies afford mountain views and feature wood-burning stoves, and one of the balconies has an outdoor copper soaking tub (call dibs if you book this cabin with friends).

And for a true cabin-in-the-woods experience, book the recently renovated Hummingbird, a stone and timber structure complete with a small woodstove, a soaking tub, and a steam shower. The back porch, which has another shower, is super private and faces the deep forest of the national park.

Eat and Drink

At The Swag you're a dozen curvy miles from the nearest restaurant or gas station, so forget about popping into town for a quick bite. Besides, your stay here includes meals; when you check in, you make a few dinner and lunch choices.

My wife and I showed up for Sunday brunch, an easygoing affair served on a porch overlooking a lush lawn set up for croquet and cornhole. Kenny Rogers and Dolly Parton played on the sound system as we feasted on grilled salmon, shrimp and grits (which I couldn't get enough of), cheddar biscuits, and a tangy Bloody Mary salad with tomatoes and celery, all of which is platedon local pottery.

Lunch (sandwiches, your choice of various salads, and chips) can be packed in to-go bags or a picnic basket to enjoy on a hike or while lounging somewhere on-site, while the dinner menu changes nightly and consists of multiple courses. One evening our meal started with panko-encrusted shrimp, followed by grilled trout, a fantastic creamy celery-root soup, and rib eye with cremini mushrooms. Dessert was a chocolate-chip pie served in a tiny skillet, topped with ice cream. Every course set in front of me was the best thing I'd ever had, until the next course came out and it became the best thing I'd ever had.

There's also snacking between meals: tea and cookies at 3 P.M., heavy hors d'oeuvres at 5. I filled a plate with charcuterie, and tried grilled pigeon for the first time (delicious!). There's always a pitcher of iced tea ready to pour on a small table near to the kitchen and a local sodas and small containers of ice cream for the taking in a cooler out on the breezeway.

For decades, The Swag was a bring-your-own-bottle kind of place, but the renovations added a cocktail bar with a robust whiskey selection and wine cellar, and I found myself ordering Smoked Old Fashioneds and wandering the property looking for different places to drink them: by the fire, in an Adirondack chair facing the horizon, up in a treehouse... Or sign up for a Garden to Glass tour to stroll the property's culinary garden with the bartender, harvest herbs, and then have them create a delicious cocktail that uses those same plants.

When to Go

The Swag is open from late March to early December. There's no bad month to visit. March and December could deliver magical snows at that elevation, May through August are vibrant and green, and October and early November deliver a kaleidoscope of color.

How to Get There

If you're flying, the closest airport is in Asheville, North Carolina, 40 miles east. Most of that mileage is covered on I-40, but the last few miles cruise through Christmas-tree and corn farms before climbing the increasingly serpentine Swag Road. At its gatehouse, you'll be met by a valet who will park your car, give you a glass of champagne or beer, and whisk you to the top of the mountain in an electric Volvo XC 90, where your room awaits.

Don't Miss

Elk were reintroduced to Great Smoky Mountains National Park in 2001 and are thriving. The massive animals tend to congregate in valley meadows on the eastern and western edges of the park. Time your visit for October and you can witness the elk rut, the annual mating ritual in which bulls bugle and fight for the attention of the cows. Show up in Cataloochee Valley at sunrise or sunset to see the most action, and keep your distance; elk can be aggressive during the rut.

Details

To book: TheSwag.com

Price: From $875 a night, two-night minimum stay, all-inclusive (except alcohol)

Address: 2300 Swag Road
Waynesville, NC 28785

Graham Averill has written several Outside travel articles of late about North Carolina, including a recent review of Asheville’s Wrong Way River Lodge and Cabins and a roundup of local hot spots about that same mountain city. He loves writing about adventure in his own backyard.

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