Hotels near Highlands, North Carolina

A little about Highlands...

Highlands is an incorporated town located on a plateau in the southern Appalachian mountains, within the Nantahala National Forest, in Macon County, North Carolina (a small annexed portion also being in neighboring Jackson County). As of the 2000 census, the town had a year-round population of 909, but the population swells to 10,000-15,000 during the season from spring to fall.

In the 1930s the town became a golfing mecca when Bobby Jones of Atlanta and some of his well-heeled golfing buddies founded the Highlands Country Club. Today that club is one of seven successful residential country club communities situated between Highlands and Cashiers, North Carolina.

Tourism in Highlands is mostly seasonal (generally March through November), with the community drawing Southerners from the oppressive heat and humidity of their flat-land Florida, Georgia, South Carolina. Alabama, Mississippi and Louisiana summers. The average daily high temperature in July (Highlands's hottest month of the year) is 78 degrees, and the July average overnight low is 57 degrees .

Highlands owes its cooler weather to the fact that it straddles the Eastern Continental Divide, giving it a much higher elevation above mean sea level at just over 4100ft. Because of this, it also receives quite a bit of precipitation (averaging nearly 90 inches a year), mainly as rain but also a few snows scattered throughout the winter.

The town is dotted with many antique dealers, a well-known auction house, restaurants (six of which have received awards from Wine Spectator), shops, inns, as well as several buildings on the National Register of Historic Places. There are four theaters: The Highlands Playhouse (founded in 1938), the Instant Theatre Company (founded in 1981), the Highlands Community Players (founded in 1995), and the Martin-Lipscomb Performing Arts Center , which hosts touring groups.

Many people love to experience the spectacular trails that Highlands has to offer. As Highlands is in such a mountainous area, there are many ideal places to hike. With Highlands being home to various waterfalls, many hiking trails lead to a waterfall; Glen Falls is an example, with its beautiful scenery alongside the roaring falls.