Adventure Basecamps in the Southeast

Arka Motel

Rogers, AR

A 1960s cinderblock motel overlooking Beaver Lake, gut-renovated into a crisp mid-century-modern retreat and featured on HGTV's Fixer to Fabulous. Kitchenette rooms, a seasonal pool, two fire-pit lounges, and an on-site mountain-bike trail make it a base camp for the lake and the Ozark riding around Rogers and Bentonville.

Lodge at Mount Mitchell

Burnsville, NC

Every room has a private deck facing the Black Mountains, where Nordic-Scandinavian design was layered onto Appalachian bones. A combination that manages to feel exactly right for where it sits.

The Sunset Motel

Brevard, NC

Record players in the rooms and hammocks in the back of a 1950s property retrovated with the vintage bones intact. Everything that defines it was already there.

Clay City Inn

Clay City, KY

A newly renovated roadside inn with country charm and a wink of Bigfoot, minutes from the trails, arches, and climbing walls of Red River Gorge and Natural Bridge. Rooms open to the outdoors, and a fenced backyard with a grill and fire pit gives climbers and hikers a place to land after a day in the cliffs.

Dock's On The River

Townsend, TN

A family-run motor court and cabin collection built in 1935 on the banks of the Little River, where every room and cabin opens onto its own door and the water runs cold and clear straight out of the national park. It sits on the quiet side of the Smokies, so you trade the crowds for a porch, a lawn, and the sound of the river all night.

Riverhouse at the Park

Gatlinburg, TN

Private balconies overlooking a river, gas fireplaces, and a family tradition of delivering fresh homemade donuts and coffee to the door every morning. The national park trail starts across the parking lot.

Route 19 Inn

Maggie Valley, NC

Restored by former Disney Imagineers in midcentury mountain style on its 1948 bones. Jonathan Creek runs through the grounds.

Sportsman's Lodge at Dale Hollow

Byrdstown, TN

A tidy, recently renovated roadside motel in Byrdstown that runs as the honest, best-value base camp on famously clear Dale Hollow Lake. Friendly family owners, spotless rooms, and an on-site picnic and grill area make it an easy landing spot after a day on the water.