South of the Smokies and less than an hour west of Asheville, North Carolina's Jackson County offers the traveler an experience far different from the bustle of Gatlinburg and Pigeon Forge or the more urban/suburban ambiance of Asheville. Stretching from Cherokee in the northwest corner south across the Eastern Continental Divide to the South Carolina border, this peaceful region provides a restful way to spend a weekend or longer
only three hours from Chattanooga and within easy reach of the more well-known attractions.
If you want to enjoy a stay in Jackson County, a number of country inns and bed-and-breakfast establishments provide a relaxing alternative to typical highway motels. Dillsboro is home to the Jarrett House, where travelers have
found food and lodging since 1884; the building is listed on the National
Registry of Historic Places. A number of other inns and B and Bs can be found in Dillsboro, as well as in Sylva, Cashiers, and other parts of the county. Check the county website for a listing: www.nc-mountains.com.
Our base of operations was the Balsam Mountain Inn, less than half a mile off US 23 and 74 near the entrance to the Blue Ridge Parkway. Located in the hamlet of Balsam at an elevation of 3500 feet, this National Historic Place took us back to the early years of the century, when visitors came by train to escape the heat of the lowlands. Opened originally in 1908, the Inn was
reclaimed and renovated in the early 1990s by innkeeper Merrily Teasley. She and her friendly, helpful staff make this large inn a homey and delightful retreat.
The Inn itself is a large, three-story neoclassical Victorian wooden
structure, now with an elevator and an up-to-date sprinkler system. Porches with rockers stretch across the front of the building. Inside, the guest finds a large lobby with a welcoming fire in the fireplace and inviting wicker furniture for relaxing. In one front corner is a well-stocked library where you can borrow a book or make a cup of tea, coffee, or cocoa. The other front corner houses a gift shop. The long beaded-board hallways display painting and other art works available for purchase.
The renovations kept the character of the old hotel and created "spaces you
like to be in," as Ms. Teasley, an "architecture nut," accurately stated. The guest rooms were enlarged and provided with private baths-in 1908 there were only hall baths. Our roomy bath contained two sinks and a claw-foot tub. It had no shower, but a private shower room is available elsewhere in the Inn. Each room or suite has a distinctive color scheme. The bedroom in our tower suite was painted red; the adjoining sitting room was deep green,
the bath a cheery yellow. The period furnishings were comfortable but not fancy. And, since the rooms have no phones or TVs, we could imagine that we had in fact gone back in time as we enjoyed the panoramic view of the mountains across the valley or watched the birds chirping outside our window.
The Inn offers delicious food. The evening of our arrival we were led to the recently added dining porch. Betty chose the pecan-encrusted catfish with roasted red pepper sauce, I the fresh baked mountain trout. Both were accompanied by an excellent house salad, a vegetable medley cooked just right, and delicious homemade rolls. For dessert we shared a serving of
warmed lemon apricot cake, a tart pound cake served with a dollop of whipped cream and a scoop of ice cream. Wonderful.
We returned to the porch for breakfast. The entrée of the day was Eggs Elizabethan-scrambled eggs made with cream cheese and chives--accompanied by bacon, fruit, and an unusually good biscuit. We were quite satisfied, though several entries in the guest book in our room had raved about the French toast. Service at breakfast, as at dinner, was attentive but not intrusive.
The Balsam Mountain Inn is open year round. Rates with breakfast range from
$105 to $165. Dinner is served for guests and, with reservations, others;
entrées begin at $14. According to Ms. Teasley, the Inn "welcomes well-behaved children under constant parental supervision."
Further information is available on the website: www.balsaminn.com. The phone number is 1-800-224-9498.