Cabin, Sweet Cabin – A Historic Getaway near Asheville

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Small town charm and amazing mountain views surround this Asheville-area 200-year-old rustic weekend getaway.

The town of Black Mountain, NC is a wonderful weekend getaway; 3.5 hours north of Atlanta and minutes outside the city of Asheville, it offers the best of both worlds – small town charm with amazing mountain views coupled with close proximity to Asheville’s awesome dining, arts, and attractions.

Cabin Sweet Cabin – the name we soon adopted after arriving – is set off from the downtown area of Black Mountain (a small town comprised of small stores, excellent coffee shops, and small restaurants in turn-of-the century storefronts). Built in 1814, Lake Eden Cabin (its “real” name) is rustic and oh-so-charming. It sits in the middle of the Lake Eden acreage – an expanse of wedding and event property that houses several rental houses in a gorgeous, well-manicured setting with several lakes, a turn-of-the century barn (one of the rustic event spaces), and ringed by mountains to offer beautiful views.

We’d planned on spending time in Asheville during our long weekend at the cabin, but found ourselves foiled by the immediate relaxation that the setting demanded. The cabin itself is fantastically (and recently) restored with modern furnishings. Our favorite “room”, as we discovered, was the porch – we spent our waking hours reading and chatting on the porch’s rocking chairs – or after dark, beside the large stone outdoor fireplace next to the cabin. Inside, a large living room centers around a wrought iron stove in the fireplace. Leading from the living room on the first floor are the full bath and the kitchenette (efficiency fridge, two burners for cooking and a full sink), and stairs rise up to the lofted bedroom above.

The kitchen is fully stocked with cookware, dishes, plates, etc, and soaps and clean towels are provided in the bathroom. The cabin sleeps up to 4, with 2 in the queen bed in the lofted bedroom and 2 on the full futon in the living room. (Perfect for one couple or a couple with children – but the lofted bedroom looks directly down onto the futon, so 2 couples needing privacy wouldn’t be recommended.)

The weather was perfect during our stay – the mid-70s were a relief from the heat of Atlanta in mid-July, and the mountain breezes were constant with the sweet smell of very fresh air. The cabin was stocked well with fire wood, so we opted to cook outside on the stone fireplace through our stay. A glass of cabernet next to the fire wrapped up our evenings after grilled porterhouse steaks the first night and fajitas the second – true bliss.

At $130 a night – and pet friendly, this little cabin was a steal. Its magical charm seemed to extend our long weekend into many more nights than we actually stayed – it seemed to stop time and demand a return to simpler times when mornings slipped into afternoons in a rocking chair on a front porch of a rustic cabin. If laziness doesn’t take hold of you as it did us, you’re in the middle of some of the best hiking in the Asheville area – head to Mount Mitchell for an unforgettable hike and views from the largest peak East of the Mississippi, or off onto the side trails of any of the Blue Ridge Parkway’s more secluded hiking destinations.