Experience the finest among North Carolina Vacation Rentals in Highlands NC at The Lakehouse on Lake Glenville in Cashiers

No need to travel to the tropics to fly through the treetops. The first canopy zip line tour in the North Carolina Smokies is located on the southern edge of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park in the Nantahala National Forest northwest of our mountain retreat. No experience is needed. Canopy Rangers provide all the necessary instruction and assistance and use state-of-the-art equipment, including helmets, full body harnesses, trolley, gloves, and tether safety lines. There are two canopy Rangers per group.

The 3-hour zip line flight is powered by gravity and a gradual 3 percent elevation change. The 1/2 mile air time Nantahala Gorge Canopy Tour takes you through multiple ecosystems, past hemlocks, into hardwoods, and through a deciduous forest packed with native flowering plants such as mountain laurel, dogwood, rhododendron, giant Frazier magnolia, rare umbrella magnolia, silver bells and many more. Your canopy Ranger will point out these natural features and will also share with you some of the cultural history of the gorge.

The zip line course is located 12 miles west of Bryson City, (approximately 48 miles from our mountain lake home) at the Falling Waters Adventure Resort in the Nantahala River Gorge. Age and weight minimum is 10 years and 70 pounds with a weight maximum of 250 pounds. $69 per person. Nantahala Gorge Canopy Tours, 866-319-8870.

The winter months are an ideal time to plan a golfing trip to the Blue Ridge Mountains of North Carolina in the spring. Calendars fill up, after all, and the best intentions to spend a weekend golfing with old friends can go sideways if not well planned. Start calling your golfing friends today, and make the Golfing Reunion of 2010 the best yet.

There are over a dozen excellent golf courses close to our Cashiers lodging. Perhaps you’ll want to extend your trip and stay for a week rather than a weekend, sampling as many courses as you can.

Wildcat Cliffs Golf Club and Course is golf at the highest elevation in the Blue Ridge Mountains. It is also stunningly beautiful, framed as it is by mountains and sheer cliffs. Trillium Links offers the challenge of elevation gains and drops as it meanders through hardwood forests. There are many more options, and no matter which courses you choose, you will be delighted by the scenery and pleased by the high quality of the links.

Staying in Cashiers rentals is a great way to go, for you can make yourself at home during your vacation. Our Highlands NC rental house sits on two acres, with over two hundred feet of Lake Glenville shoreline. If you need an afternoon or day off from golfing, you’ll be pleased by the number of activities available out your door: swimming, boating, and lawn games are just a few. You won’t find a more comfortable place to gather together with old friends.