The inn

The inn and its grounds

A small inn on about three wooded acres near Robbinsville, North Carolina, surrounded by forest, with a creek below the porches and a private dock on Lake Santeetlah a walk down through the woods.

The property

About three wooded acres, and eight rooms in the middle of them

The inn stands on about three wooded acres in Graham County. The forest around it is the Nantahala National Forest, which is federal land rather than ours, and it keeps this corner quiet.

Everything here is reachable on foot. The creek runs past the building, a small footbridge crosses it on the way to the pond, and walking trails lead off from the inn into the woods. Our chef prepares breakfast every morning, and it is included. Our private guest dock on Lake Santeetlah is downhill through the trees rather than out on the road.

Eight rooms is the whole inn, so there are never many people staying at once.

Wooden steps up to a porch at Blue Boar Inn under maple leaves — Porch steps up from the garden path.

A hand-lettered wooden sign: If you are lucky enough to be in the mountains, you are lucky enough — Inside the inn.

The grounds

All of it is a walk rather than a drive

A path through the woods at Blue Boar Inn, crossing a small wooden footbridge under the trees — **The forest** The inn sits on about three wooded acres, surrounded by the Nantahala National Forest. It is quiet out here, and the trees are the reason the place sounds the way it does.

The creek on the grounds at Blue Boar Inn falling between mossy boulders — **The creek** It runs past the inn, on our own land, and you can hear it from a good deal of the property. A small footbridge crosses it on the way to the pond. Guests tend to mention it more than anything else, usually in the context of sleeping with a window open.

A covered deck with cushioned seating looking out over the lawn and the woods — **The lawn and gardens** Open lawn behind the inn with chairs set out facing the woods, and the forest starting where the grass stops.

Two chairs on a deck at Blue Boar Inn, the forest beyond the railing — **Decks and porches** The suites open onto the inn’s decks and porches, with chairs set out and the forest close by. Somewhere to sit with a coffee first thing, or with a drink once the light goes.

Looking out from the pavilion over the grounds: the creek running over rocks in the foreground, a mown lawn, and the pond beyond it among tall trees — **The pond** On the grounds, below the pavilion, over the little footbridge across the creek. Still water, best in the first hour of light, and a short walk with a coffee and nothing else to do.

A narrow walking trail leading into the woods near Blue Boar Inn — **Walking trails** Walking trails lead from the inn through the surrounding woods, up toward other cabins and down toward Lake Santeetlah. Something to do at seven in the morning and again at dusk without getting in the car.

The covered pavilion with picnic tables, grills and a stone fire ring in front — **The pavilion** Covered, open-sided, and the reason a group can eat outside whatever the sky is doing.

The stone fire ring between picnic tables beside the pavilion — **The firepit** Where the evening ends. It is also the darkest sky most guests will have stood under in a long time.

A floor-to-ceiling stone fireplace in the great room, the dining room beyond — The great room, the dining room beyond the fireplace.

Indoors

The common rooms

The great room and the dining room, divided by a stone fireplace, and at the far end of the guest hallway a game room with a card table and a shuffleboard table. Places to spend time together rather than in eight separate suites.