Neil's Creek

Welcome to beautiful Yancey County, the land of Mount Mitchell and the Pisgah National Forest. As of 2007, the Pisgah National Forest had 510,113 acres. It was established in 1916, making it one of the older national forests of the Eastern United States. A portion of the land was donated by George Washington Vanderbilt II, who created the Biltmore Estate in Asheville.

Here’s a simple map of our area that can help orient you to Highway 80. For those of you interested in planning your trip according to the Autumn leaf season, here’s a map of typical leaf color peak times in Western North Carolina. Looking at their map, the heavy dark line to the east of Asheville and south of Mount Mitchell is the Blue Ridge Parkway. We are in the zone to the east of Mt. Mitchell where the color display peaks around October 7th. Leaf color is usually evident from the end of September until the end of October, but this is variable from year to year. The best place to see color? Everyone around here thinks of The Blue Ridge Parkway, conveniently only 4 miles from our cabin.

The mountains of Western North Carolina have been a summer getaway for folks from the North, South Carolina, and Florida, since the 19th century. While noted for its cooler summer temperatures, it still can get hot in the mountains during the day. Fortunately, The Log Cabin on Neil’s Creek is located in an alpine valley at an elevation of roughly 3,000 feet, making for a cooler summer. In the winter, freezing temperatures are not unusual. The flatness of the terrain is easy to reach if there is snow, and walking is a great activity during all seasons. Except in very heavy snow (a rarity), you will not need an all-terrain vehicle to reach us: a typical sedan is just fine. If you are coming from the direction of Asheville, the better route in questionable weather is 19/23 (Future I-26) to Exit 9/19E through Burnsville, then 80S.  Ray’s Weather is a good source of forecasts for the area.