Highlands, NC | The Family Mountain Trip You'll Never Forget
- Emerson & Louise
- Apr 26
- 9 min read
Updated: 2 days ago
There are affiliate links inside this article. I only recommend places and items I would use for my own family.
There are places you visit, and there are places that visit you back. Highlands, North Carolina is the second kind.
Sitting at 4,118 feet — the highest incorporated town on the East Coast — Highlands doesn't announce itself. It doesn't need to. Tucked into a lush plateau inside the Nantahala National Forest, on the borders of Georgia and South Carolina, it catches you quietly: with cool air in the middle of August, with a waterfall appearing around every bend, with a Main Street that somehow holds a James Beard-recognized restaurant and a candy shop that still sells penny candy. With the way everything slows down and your children look up from their screens because there is simply too much to see.
✈️ Getting to Highlands, NC
Highlands sits where three states meet — North Carolina, Georgia, and South Carolina — which makes it more reachable than its remoteness suggests. The two primary airports are Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International (ATL), approximately 2.5 hours south, and Asheville Regional Airport (AVL), about 1 hour and 45 minutes north. Both are solid entry points depending on where you're flying from; Atlanta serves more national routes, Asheville is the more scenic arrival.
Emerson & Louise arranges private car pickup from both ATL and AVL directly to your property in Highlands — no rental car logistics, no navigating the mountain curves on a map app after a travel day. Your family arrives at the hotel, not at a rental counter. This is the first thing we handle, and it sets the tone for everything that follows.
🏨 Where to Stay in Highlands, NC
Highlands has no chain hotels. What it has is better: a small collection of properties that treat hospitality as something close to an art form. These are the three I recommend.
The Millstone Cabins — On the Fly Fishing River
Best for families who want to step outside and be on the water
This one is special. Two private cabins sitting directly on a fly fishing river in Highlands — meaning your family wakes up, steps off the porch, and is already where most people drive 45 minutes to reach. Fireplace, Smart TV, fully equipped, and surrounded by the kind of quiet that reminds you why you came to the mountains in the first place.
Trailborn Highlands — Outdoor Collection by Marriott Bonvoy
Best for families with older kids who love the outdoors
Trailborn is the newer entry in the Highlands luxury market, and it has brought something the town didn't previously have: a Nordic spa, a serious restaurant, and a design sensibility that is contemporary mountain without trying too hard. Rooms are sleek and comfortable, the staff is exceptional at directing guests toward the best hikes and experiences, and the complimentary afternoon social — complete with wine — signals the tone of the place from arrival.
Lake Toxaway Falls
Best for families who want to wake up on a waterfall
Twenty minutes east of Highlands in the Lake Toxaway area, this three-bedroom, two-bath luxury condo sits directly on a waterfall with mountain views from every angle. It is the kind of property that makes the lodging itself part of the experience — your children will hear the falls from their beds and see the mountains before they pour their first cup of cereal.
🤍 The 4-Day Highlands, NC Itinerary
The itinerary is the heart of this trip. Here is exactly how I would build four days for a luxury family who wants to feel these mountains fully — not just see them. Check out our Telluride Family Vacation for another mountain getaway.
Day 1 | Arrive, Settle, Exhale
1:00 PM | Arrival & Check-In
Your private car delivers the family directly to the property. Let the team handle the bags. Take twenty minutes on the porch or balcony before doing anything else. The transition from travel mode to mountain mode requires a deliberate pause. Let the altitude and the quiet do their work.
3:00 PM | Main Street & The Bascom
Highlands' Main Street is small enough to cover on foot and interesting enough that you won't want to rush. Browse the galleries — The Carolina Gallery of Fine Art and Art Highlands Gallery both carry exceptional work. Stop at The Bascom, a contemporary arts center with free admission, six buildings, and six acres of sculpture and landscape that children engage with genuinely.
5:15 PM | Golden Hour Photography Session — Lake Sequoyah
This is a scheduled experience, not a casual walk. Emerson & Louise arranges a private family photographer to meet you at Lake Sequoyah as the afternoon light drops behind the ridge. The mist that rolls off the water at this hour, the way the spillover falls catch the gold — this is Highlands at its most beautiful.
7:00 PM | Dinner at Madison's at Old Edwards Inn
Madison's is the flagship restaurant at Old Edwards and one of the finest dining experiences in Western North Carolina. The menu is European-inspired and locally sourced, the wine list is exceptional, and the room — warm, elegant, unhurried — sets the tone for the trip.
Day 2 | The Waterfall Day
Highlands sits at the center of one of the densest waterfall ecosystems east of the Rockies. Technically a temperate rainforest, Macon County receives over 80 inches of rainfall annually — which means the water is always moving and the falls are always full.
7:30 AM | Dry Falls — Walk Behind a 75-Foot Waterfall
Dry Falls is the signature waterfall experience of any Highlands trip. A 75-foot cascade on the Cullasaja River inside the Nantahala National Forest, it is one of the rare waterfalls in the East where you can walk safely behind the full curtain of water and stand in the shallow cave as the river plunges in front of you. The trail is a paved quarter-mile, fully accessible, and works for every age.
9:00 AM | Bridal Veil Falls
Just under a mile from Dry Falls, Bridal Veil Falls hangs over the highway in a way that feels theatrical. A brief walk gets you underneath the overhang for photographs and the full experience of water falling overhead.
10:30 AM | Secret Falls — The Hidden Swimming Hole
Secret Falls — also called Big Shoals Falls — is the payoff for families willing to go slightly off the path. A 50-foot waterfall on Big Creek deep in the Nantahala National Forest, it cascades into a serene pool that is a perfect swimming hole on a summer day. The trail is 1.3 miles out and back with a gentle elevation change — manageable for most ages.
12:30 PM | Lunch at The Ruffed Grouse Tavern
The Ruffed Grouse Tavern at Highlander Mountain House consistently earns top marks for its approachable mountain menu and relaxed atmosphere. The kind of place where muddy hiking boots are welcomed and the food is taken seriously. Order the burger.
3:00 PM | Glen Falls — Triple Waterfall Hike (Older Kids / Fit Families)
Glen Falls offers the most spectacular multi-waterfall hike near Highlands. A triple waterfall system on a 2.4-mile round-trip trail with 800 feet of elevation change — challenging and completely worth it. You descend alongside the waterfalls and stop at multiple overlooks before committing to the full hike down. The upper two falls are the finest views.
7:00 PM | Dinner at 4118 Restaurant
Named for the elevation of Highlands, 4118 is the chef-driven experience locals and return visitors seek out specifically. The menu changes with the season, the sourcing is impeccable. Trust the specials. Make the reservation the day your hotel is confirmed.
Day 3 | The Signature Experience & Town Day
7:00 AM | Private Guided Fly Fishing — Cullasaja River
This is the experience Emerson & Louise arranges that you will not find by searching on your own. A private half-day guided fly fishing session on the Cullasaja River — one of the most storied trout streams in the Southern Appalachians — with an expert local guide who knows every run, every pool, and every stretch of water that the public access crowds never reach.
12:00 PM | Lunch & Main Street — The Full Walk
Return to town for a leisurely lunch and the full Main Street experience. The Ugly Dog Pub is a local institution — casual, genuinely good, and the kind of spot that makes you feel like a regular after one visit. After lunch, browse slowly: The Spice & Tea Exchange, The Highlands Wine Shoppe for regional bottles, TJ Bailey's candy shop for the children.
3:00 PM | The Highlands Biological Station & Nature Center
One of the most underrated experiences in town, especially for children with any curiosity about the natural world. Operating since 1927 as a research center on the Southern Appalachian ecosystem, the Botanical Garden and Nature Center are open to the public, free of charge, and offer educational exhibits on the plants and wildlife of the plateau.
5:00 PM | Spa — Old Edwards or Half-Mile Farm Serenity Spa
Book treatments in advance for the adults. The Old Edwards Spa is a full-service wellness facility set in a beautifully designed space. If you are staying at Half-Mile Farm, the Serenity Spa on property offers the same caliber of service in a more intimate setting. This is non-negotiable. The guide handled the fishing. The waterfall handled the wonder. Now the spa handles you.
7:30 PM | Dinner at Trailborn Highlands Supper Club
End the evening at Trailborn's restaurant, which has rapidly become one of the essential dining experiences in Highlands. Open with the char-grilled oysters. Order the venison over grits. The cocktail program is serious. Make the reservation.
For families who want to push deeper into the mountains, the Great Smoky Mountains Railroad in Bryson City — about an hour from Highlands — runs a 4.5-hour excursion through the Nantahala Gorge along the river, with a layover at the Nantahala Outdoor Center.
Day 4 | The Closing Ritual
Day 4 is intentional. The final morning is not for squeezing in one more waterfall. It is for sealing what the family has already experienced into something permanent.
6:30 AM | Sunrise at Lake Sequoyah Dam
Wake before the family and walk to the dam in the early morning quiet. The mist off the water at this hour, the sound of the spillover falls, the way the light comes through the ridge — this is Highlands at its most private.
8:30 AM | Final Breakfast & One Intentional Conversation
Gather the family for a long breakfast. Ask each person to name their one moment — the moment they want to carry home. This is a ritual worth building into every family trip. It teaches children to hold experiences with intention, not just collect them.
10:00 AM | Last Walk on Main Street
A final, unhurried pass through town. Pick up one thing that is specific to Highlands — a piece from one of the galleries, a bottle from the wine shop, a bag of something from the candy store. A small object that will sit somewhere in your home and return you here, briefly, when you see it.
11:30 AM | Departure
Drive out through the gorge the way you came in. Watch the waterfall appear in the curve of the road. Let the children be quiet in the back seat. That quiet is the signal that the trip landed.
📝 What Emerson & Louise Handles
Highlands in peak season — July and August, and the second week of October for foliage — books months in advance. The properties above fill quickly at those times, and the most coveted rooms at Trailborn are not always visible through standard booking platforms at preferred pricing.
As Fora-affiliated luxury travel advisors, Emerson & Louise has access to preferred rates, room upgrades when available, and direct relationships with the properties that matter. We know which rooms face the mountain, which suites are worth the upgrade, and which dining reservations need to be secured the moment your hotel is confirmed.
We arrange private car pickup from both ATL and AVL directly to your Highlands property. We book the private fly fishing guide. We schedule the golden hour photography session at Lake Sequoyah and coordinate the timing so it doesn't conflict with dinner. We handle the Day 4 departure route that passes through the best pulloffs on the Waterfall Byway.
🎀 Travel With Purpose
Emerson & Louise is named in memory of our daughter, Emerson Louise. A portion of every booking funds travel experiences for families navigating a similar loss — because we believe that beauty, adventure, and the experience of the world together as a family is one of the most powerful forms of healing there is. When you book with us, you are not just planning a trip. You are joining something larger.
If you would like to learn more about the Foundation, or how your travel supports another family, we would love to tell you more.
🏔️ What to Pack for Highlands, NC
Highlands requires preparation for a range of conditions — summer mornings are cool at 4,000 feet, waterfall hikes need grip and mist protection, and evenings call for something polished enough for Madison's. Here is what I bring every time.
Columbia Kids' Rain Jacket — non-negotiable for waterfall days and mountain weather shifts
Merrell Moab 3 Waterproof Hiking Shoes — Kids' — what we wore on Glen Falls — real grip, waterproof, worth every dollar
Hydro Flask 32 oz Wide Mouth Water Bottle — the waterfall circuit covers miles — hydration is not optional
Columbia Women's Saturday Trail Stretch Pants — hiking by day, dinner-ready with a layer by evening
BioLite HeadLamp 330 — for early morning lake walks and any trail that runs longer than planned
Peak Design Travel Tripod — for family photos behind Dry Falls that you will actually frame
Tumi Alpha 3 Carry-On Spinner — what I recommend for any mountain trip — packs light, survives everything
🧳 Let's Build Your Highlands, NC Trip
Highlands is ready when you are. The waterfalls are there in every season. The tables are waiting. The mist still turns gold at 4,118 feet, just before dark.
Emerson & Louise
Luxury Family Mountain & Lake Travel
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