Mountain Motels in the Southeast

Blue Ridge Tourist Court

Boone, NC

Built in 1950 and on the National Register of Historic Places, Boone's oldest surviving roadside property returned to mid-century form in a 2022 restoration. The strongest case in the area for why preservation beats renovation.

The Parkman

Townsend, TN

On the quiet side of Great Smoky Mountains National Park, with gas-fireplace patios, a saltwater pool, and pickleball. Trail access to the park and direct access to Cades Cove from the property.

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.

Rhode's Motor Lodge

Boone, NC

Mountain views from every window, ground-floor drive-up rooms, and upper-floor balconies facing south. A straightforward property that gets the essentials exactly right.

The Groovy Nomad Hotel

Trenton, GA

The 1959 Southland revived by Dade County natives who drove past it every day until they could buy it. Themed rooms, local murals, and park passes with every stay.

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.

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.