Old Edwards Inn and Spa in the Western North Carolina Mountains Purchases Highlands Cove Golf Club and Peregrine Restaurant at the Cove. “The Old Edwards Club” will Reopen Spring 09 as a renovated Private Club and Golf Course with Access to All Old Edwards Inn Amenities, Including its World Class Spa, Outdoor Heated Mineral Pool, State of the Art Fitness Center, Wellness Classes and Madisons Gourmet Restaurant & Wine Garden.Burrowed between the Nantahala National Forest and Pisgah National Forest in western North Carolina, the small town of Highlands maintains an artful balance between being “away from it all” and generating its own cultural magnetism.
“It’s an upscale mountain retreat,” said Jennifer Smathers, director of the town’s visitor center and lifelong resident. “It’s very pretty, and it’s a close-knit town.”
The area’s mountain vistas, network of trails and dozens of waterfalls make for an ideal outdoor getaway. There’s no end to outdoor activity: hiking, rafting, fishing — even ice skating on a large frozen pond in winter.
But remote Highlands also has bloomed into a hub of culture. The town is a second home for many artists, actors and authors seeking respite from sweltering Southern cities and inspiration in the Southern Appalachian scenery.
“The town is populated by people who are wanting to escape, so you’ve got people who are very creative and very enthusiastic about preserving the natural landscape,” said Donna Alley, who with her husband has run the Colonial Pines Inn for 28 years.