Smokey Mountain Hideaways

This has been such an interesting week. If you've stopped by my Everyday Randomness blog, you know I went out of town for the weekend. We took the motorcycles to Deal's Gap, but we were rained out on Saturday, so we found a nice little cozy lodge in the mountains called the Kickstand Lodge. I really wanted to share with everyone my experiences at this place because I have never stayed anywhere before like it. If you're ever in the Smokey Mountains, particularly around Robbinsville and Stecoah, NC, I really suggest stopping by this place to check it out.

The Kickstand Lodge might be a small campground and resort revolving around Motorcycles, but anyone is welcome there. We started out on our trip Saturday morning with full intentions of camping at Deal's Gap, but an hour into the trip we realized the rain wasn't going to let up, so I called the Kickstand Lodge hoping for a couple openings in the bunkhouse. The lodge has 2 cabins, a bunkhouse that sleeps 4, mini camping cabins that sleep 1, and camping sites set up for both RVs and tent only. When I called we were lucky enough to get a cabin with 1 full and 1 single. There aren't bathrooms in the cabins. Instead you have a community bathhouse that I must say has the cleanest bathrooms I have ever seen. It was perfect for the 3 of us. Anyway, I talked to the owner, Mo, on the phone and she wouldn't even hear of letting me put a deposit on the room before we got there. She said she had my name, my location, and that's all she needed to know. We got there a little over an hour later, and we knew we had found a great place.

The entire lodge is focused on people getting to know each other and having a great time. Mo learns everyone's names before you walk out of the office, and she makes sure you're as happy as can be. We settled into our cabin, and then we spent the next hour hanging out at the big community outdoor kitchen just chilling with Mo and a few of the other regular guests. Everyone is very friendly, and instead of hanging out at individual cabins and campsites keeping to your own, everyone is basically expected to get to know the other guests.

For each meal, Mo gets everyone together and cooks a huge outdoor BBQ. Everyone chips in and helps cook in some way, even if it's as simple as looking something up in the cookbook. We had the best burgers ever, clam chowder, taco soup, the best grilled corn on the cob I've ever tasted, and some really good slaw. Mo feeds everyone for free, but takes donations to help her pay for the food. It was great. The prices at the resort are extremely cheap, especially for the area, and you can't beat awesome food for donations only.

There's a community bonfire after dinner, and Mo provides all the smores you can eat. If you're a beer drinker, she recommends it. We played horseshoes, fished in the pond, fed the ducks, and chilled by the Bonfire making new friends all night. We met an awesome group of guys up with Mountain Bikes. They were a nice group of cops from Charlotte, and I look forward to running into them again. We had so much fun we didn't want to leave Sunday.

If you want to explore the Smokey Mountains, I really suggest staying at the Kickstand Lodge. You've got great people, great food, an awesome experience, and most of the good tourist attractions like Maggie Valley, Gatlinburg, Cherokee, Deal's Gap, Bryson City, and Cherohala Skyway are no more than an hour and 1/2 away. You've got mountain biking, hiking, whitewater rafting, motorcycles, scooter rentals, and awesome scenery all around you.