VacationLand is by far the MudHole nearest and dearest to our hearts.  We discovered this property in 1980 when it went by this name, which was later changed to LakeView Lodge.  Present owners -- finally acknowledging that there never really was a lodge anyway -- now call the place LakeView Cottages.  Accurate, but without that MudHole ring to it.

PROPERTY	LAKEVIEW COTTAGES
ADDRESS	171 LAKEVIEW LODGE DRIVE BRYSON CITY, NC  28713
TELEPHONE	800.742.6492
WEB	www.lakeviewnc.com

Very good alternative lodging can be found at Nantahala Village on Highway 19, a little south (built in the late 1940's, 800.438.1507) or at Fontana Village at the west end of Lake Fontana (this was originally built as a workers' camp for the construction of the TVA dam). 

NOTE:  On our most recent visit, Lake Fontana was not open during the shoulder season (used to be open all-year).  Nantahala was doing very well -- lots of mountain bike and kayaker traffic.  (We also learned that the lodge burned down in 1997 and was re-built -- so select their stone cottages which were built in the 1950's if you want something authentic.)

WHEN TO GO AND HOW TO GET THERE:

• Highway 19, just west of Bryson City; watch for the sign which says "Lakeview Cottages"
• This is one place where it is appropriate to go in the "high season" of June and July.  The weather is not too hot, the evenings are not too cold -- and the pool temperature will be more bearable.  Closed mid-November through January.

MAPQUEST: http://www.mapquest.com/maps/map.adp?city=bryson+city&state=NC&zip=28713&country=us&level=2

The local history says that a man named Blanton, from Ashville, purchased the property in 1952 and that some cottages already existed on the 45 acres.  Some stories say that he was an educator, others say that he owned a furniture manufacturing company or ran a business school; the stories agree that he drank too much.  At that time, there was something called VacationLand Nursery surrounded by boxwood trees.  There was a gift shop in the basement of a house on the main road.

Blanton missed his friends in Ashville, but drank too much to safely navigate the roads back and forth -- so he invited them to VacationLand instead.  Being pretty sociable, he had to build more cottages.

There was a Mrs. Carter Sardin and a Thomas C. Geist in the picture in the mid-sixties.  In about 1970, Mr. R.W. (Bob) Lurch acquired the property.  Lurch was a former English teacher at Springfield College in Massachusetts with roots in Lake Worth, Florida.  When he retired from teaching, he purchased a Harley Davidson dealership, then later found VacationLand and retired.  We believe it was his Florida influence that caused him to paint Smoky Mountain cottages aquamarine. 

Lurch would drive up from Florida each spring to open the place.  He'd pull a small trailer and bring a dog or two.  Locals Clara and Joe watched the place over the winters.  By the time we met Lurch in 1980 he was getting on in years -- bypass surgery, diabetes, only one good eye, and he spat a lot with a phlegm-wrenching noise that reverberated across the property.

Lurch really didn't want strangers staying at VacationLand.  He wouldn't answer the phone; he would leave the property in the afternoons so drive-by guests would be discouraged; he would refuse to rent cottages to small groups, fearing they would be 'disruptive'.

Sometime in the late 1990's, Lurch died and the property has now passed on to new ownership.

Our favorite unit was number 11 (bedroom, sitting area, kitchen) and it rented for $21.00/night in 1980.  The units next door, without kitchens, went for $13.00.

ATTRACTIONS

THE ROAD TO NOWHERE SUNSETS FROM THE PATIO ABOVE THE POOL, LOOKING OVER FONTANA LAKE FIREMEN'S DAY FESTIVAL IN AUGUST GREAT SMOKIES RAFTING COMPANY ROLLING THUNDER RIVER COMPANY NANTAHALA OUTDOOR CENTER GREAT SMOKY MOUNTAINS RAILROAD (800.872.4681)  www.gsmr.com

VacationLand is just six miles from Bryson City and sixteen from Cherokee.

Lurch would produce an annual half-page newsletter which we received some years.

• From 1982:  "...The new four-laning ends at my entrance so Vacationland will be easy to find.  The late arrivals will now have a place to get a snack in Bryson City as Hardy's has opened a new restaurant in town.  Before, after 8 p.m., you starved.  A sad note:  I had to have my buddy "Rip" put to sleep last October.  I miss that little dog as I had him for quite a few years.  I can tell you that Candy misses him too."
• In 1985, his dog Fritz was hit by a vehicle and died; Lurch had quadruple bypass surgery.
• In 1987, he had a stroke, lost a brother, and said:  "I don't really consider it a business but a place to be in the summer with many good friends each year."
• From 1989:  "The people from Germany, Holland, etc. seem to feel good about Lakeview Lodge as it reminds them of home."
• From 1991:  "I've sent these spring letters for 20 years now and have run out of things to say.  This past summer, along with the general economy the whole area was down, me included.  I am going to 'hang in there' for another year though, but I must admit each year gets a little tougher to handle.  Don't suppose it would be age?"
• We last received brochure information from Lurch in 1993.

RESTAURANT RECOMMENDATIONS

Frymont Inn  Charleston  Nantahala (B.Y.O.)

We last visited this property in March 2002.