Beech Mountain, North Carolina · 4,330 ft

Come, stay& play.

A remodelled four-bedroom log cabin between two creeks, two miles from the slopes, and seventy degrees all summer.

Deer Trail Lodge5.06 reviews · 6 Website

A log cabin at 4,330 feet in Beech Mountain, North Carolina, remodelled through 2025 by owners who stay here themselves.

The highest town in the East

Four thousand three hundred and thirty feet above the heat.

Beech Mountain sits higher than any other town east of the Mississippi, so summer here averages seventy degrees and winter brings real snow. Deer Trail Lodge is a remodelled log cabin near the middle of town, between two creeks, two miles from the lifts.

The lodge

Rustic outside. Spotless within.

Log siding, tongue-and-groove vaulted ceilings and a deck across the front; inside, natural hickory floors throughout, all-new furniture, a Frigidaire kitchen and central heat and air. The owners remodelled every room through 2025 and still stay here themselves, which is why guests keep using the same word in their reviews: clean. Four bedrooms, two and a half baths and 2,039 square feet for up to eight.

Inside the lodge

By the numbers

Why people come back

Winter

Snow on the roof, skis by the door

The resort is two miles away, the town sledding hill is up the road (the sleds are in the house), and there are boot and glove dryers for when you come in.

After dark

Every evening ends at the fire pit

A stone circle in the back yard, Adirondack chairs, firewood stacked and a cooler for drinks. On a clear night at this altitude, the stars come all the way down to the trees.

Ask about your dates

Inside

Room by room

Guest stories

Bring the dog

We never travel without ours

Up to two well-groomed indoor dogs under 30 pounds are welcome, with no pet fee. The back yard is flat and grassed, the king suite’s deck opens straight onto it, and there is a crate in the house. Send us a note before you book so we can confirm.

The dog policy

From the owners

Why we made it this way

In more than thirty years of travelling we rented dozens of homes on Vrbo and Airbnb, and found very few we would have rented twice. We carried our own pillows, our own dog crate and boxes of cookware. Not one of those houses had a crockpot, a waffle maker or a crate. Windows had no blinds, neighbours kept us awake, doors didn’t latch, and every house lacked the attention of an owner who actually stayed there.

So when we closed on Deer Trail Lodge in July 2021, we set out to make it the house we had been looking for: comfortable beds, clean from floor to ceiling, a kitchen with everything in it, room-darkening blinds, gas fireplaces, central air for the rare warm day, a yard where a dog can run, and a creek on either side. We have spent hours cleaning, remodelling and reworking every corner of it, through 2025, and we stay here ourselves.

If anything is amiss while you are here, call, text or email and we will see to it straight away. We love this place, and we hope you will too.

Lora Williams

Owner, Deer Trail Lodge

Filmed at the lodge

Who else visits

Deer most mornings, a black bear twice in one week, fawns on the road. Our own footage, plus a few slow clips of the house. Follow @beechmountainvacationrental for more.

A buck at the fire pit

View post

The bear, by the creek

Fawns on the road

Pulling in

The fire’s lit

The front deck

The Alpine Coaster

Beech Mountain

A Christmas village in winter, a cool escape in July

Skiing and tubing at the resort, trout at Lake Coffey, pickleball and kayaks at Buckeye, waterfalls along the town trails, the Land of Oz in autumn. Down the mountain: Banner Elk, Sugar Mountain, Grandfather Mountain, Valle Crucis and Blowing Rock. Fans of the area come back every year and never run out of things to do.

Things to do

Photos

The lodge, inside and out

Deer Trail Lodge

Getting here

Near the middle of Beech Mountain

On a newly paved road, two miles from the resort and 8.5 from Banner Elk. Tri-Cities Airport is about 60 miles away, Asheville 94 and Charlotte 112. In winter you will need four-wheel or all-wheel drive.

Ask about your dates

Tell us when you would like to come and who is coming (dogs included). Lora will reply with availability and a quote.

Notes from the mountain

Trails, wildlife and new things to do, since our first summer.

The Shane Outpost is awesome

By Lora Williams · September 29, 2021

The Shane Outpost is a new campsite area at the far end of Buckeye Lake, and it is not just for campers. There are nice public bathrooms that stay open when the Buckeye Recreation Center is closed. The lake butts up against the outpost and canoes are available to rent; if no staff member is there to check out a boat, plan on bringing your own life vest and paddles. The trails loop to the Buckeye Trail Loop, and the clear stream is great for some water play. There are deck overlooks for the campsite and grills, and fewer than ten campsites.

things to do

Four thousand three hundred and thirty feet above the heat.

Rustic outside. Spotless within.

Why people come back

feet above sea level

miles to the slopes

bedrooms

gas fireplaces

creeks

on Airbnb