Places to stay near attractions in Highlands / Cashiers

Highlands, North Carolina sits at 4,118 feet on the Highlands Plateau at the southern edge of the Nantahala National Forest, and it is one of the highest incorporated towns east of the Mississippi. Founded in 1875 as a planned resort community, its cool-summer climate (rarely above the mid-70s) has made it a summer retreat for Atlanta, Charlotte, and Miami families for more than a century.

The four-block downtown is unusually refined for a small mountain town, with the Old Edwards Inn, Kelsey-Hutchinson Founders Park, art galleries, wine bars, and restaurants like Wolfgang's, Madison's, and Ristorante Paoletti. Just outside town, the Cullasaja Gorge along U.S. 64 drops through Bridal Veil Falls (you can drive behind it), Dry Falls (you can walk behind it), and Cullasaja Falls, and the Whiteside Mountain trail delivers a 750-foot cliff-face view across to Cashiers.

Highlands pairs naturally with Cashiers 10 miles east for waterfalls, golf, and shopping, and with Franklin to the west for gem mining and the Bartram Trail.