It had been a dream of mine for the past few years to take Marco to see snow and stay in a cabin in the mountains with a hot tub. 2020 was a bust, but we finally made it in 2021 and I could not have been more pleased with how the entire trip turned out.
~ The Cabin
While not technically a cabin, it was absolutely the ‘cabin in the mountains’ I had dreamed of. The home was perfectly perched on the edge of a cliff and hidden up a winding mountain road that required all-wheel drive and two point turns to navigate. The drive up to the house was a little scary for me as I could see over the edge and straight down! Once we got to the top the views were breathtaking. The hot tub was just next level and we enjoyed it every night while watching the sunset over the mountains. It was the perfect spot for our family snow-cation.
Watch this video for a tour!
~ Scaly Mountain Snow Tubing
The main reason for the snow-cation was seeing snow. From my research, if this area was to get snow, it would be around the end of January, when we visited. We did see some ice and frost/snow on the ground but it didn’t actually snow while we were there. We chose to visit Scaly Mountain, as they make their own snow and you can purchase a ticket for $30 for 2 hours of snow tubing. The line was long at first glance, but moved very very quickly. The allotted time is more than enough time for you to wear yourselves out if you visit.
This was the kid’s first time seeing snow so they were both excited to tube and make snow balls and we all had a blast. If you listen to Marco’s screams going down the mountain in the video above, you will totally wish you were there.
~ Linville Falls
Linville Falls was one of my favorite parts of our NC trip. I really enjoyed the icy hike to each look-out, with each view being more breathtaking than the previous. I really didn’t research this place before I visited. I just knew it was close enough to the caverns and was pleasantly surprised at the beauty of these cascading waterfalls.
~ Linville Caverns
This was my second time exploring a cave of this size. I love caves! They are all so different and I really enjoyed seeing the different structures and how they differed from Florida’s. During the tour, they even had us turn off all our flashlights and we stood there in complete darkness.
This is the fault line that goes across three states located inside Linville Caverns. A fault line is a fracture along which the earth’s crust has shifted. Thankfully, it’s remained inactive. I think it’s fasinating to look at. You can really see where the earth was ripped apart.
~ Deep Creek
We had a lot of fun chasing waterfalls, climbing and skipping rocks at Deep Creek. Depending on which trail you take, Deep Creek has a 2.4 to 5 mile hike along white water rapids with three waterfalls. During the summer, it’s a really popular tubing spot.
~ Soco Falls
As soon as I saw photos of Soco falls, I knew it was a location I did not want to miss. What makes Soco unique is that it is a double waterfall, where the streams of two waterfalls meet. Although beautiful, this might have been the most stressful part of our trip. The location was easy to find and not far from the road, however that path was covered in mix of snow, sludge, and mud. Part of the decent down to the bottom of the waterfall had some steps and then there was a lot of rock climbing and mud slipping while holding onto Marco with one hand and ropes with the other. Most of my body was covered in mud for this photo but I edited most of it out. I’d say Soco Falls is worth checking out for the views of icicles and snow around the waterfall and the adventure. Maybe visit in the summer to avoid the ice!
Enormous icicles on the side of a mountain is not something we Floridians see every day.
It was so nice to be in our little cabin with the kids and no electronics for a few days. We hiked during the day and at night cooked dinner, enjoyed the hot tub, had a fire and played board games. I will definitely be back! There are many more North Carolina mountains and waterfalls on my list to explore.