This Stunning Southern Mountain Town Has a New Boutique Hotel With Chic Summer Camp Vibes

Outpost Inn offers boutique lodging amid the Blue Ridge Mountains.

Outpost Inn in Highlands, North Carolina, might be a full 14-hour drive from Woodstock, New York, but the southern mountain town is very much borrowing the famous town — and its more famous music festival’s — hippie spirit. The boutique inn opened quietly this spring, and in its first months has carved out a niche for those heading to the Appalachian Mountains looking for some peace, quiet, and good old-fashioned kumbaya.

Opened by Jason Reeves — the brains behind the luxurious, and much-adored, Highlander Mountain House — Outpost Inn is embracing a different spirit of the region, one a little more rustic and in touch with the natural surroundings. Modeling itself as Highlander Mountain House’s more free-spirited sibling, Outpost Inn draws its inspiration from classic summer retreats of mid-century America with a healthy dose of hippie commune vibes, and “summer of love” energy. The result is a relaxed yet comfortable escape that blends a sense of approachable luxury with a healthy dose of nostalgia.

With just 14 rooms spread across three historic buildings, Outpost Inn’s intimate size is very much a choice. Rooms vary in size and are motel-style in that they are reachable from exterior doors. But that’s where the motel connection begins and ends.

Here, there is a clear sense of place (North Carolina touches are sprinkled throughout), and guests are encouraged to talk to each other, get to know the staff, and slow down from the rhythm of life left at home, which may or may not translate into joining in for songs in the evening around the inn’s campfire.

Outpost Inn's deft combination of funky decor — think deer heads, hand-sewn quilts, record players stocked with vinyl, and mid-century Scandinavian chic furniture — embraces the rural and artistic spirit that the Highlands area of the Appalachian Mountains is known for while creating a distantly stylish interior that Reeves has become known for.

It's not all about the interior, of course. Outpost Inn is, like the very best of summer camps or idealized summer country homes, within a jumping-off point to stellar swimming, fishing, and hiking. And for those looking to try their hand at some art, a few minutes away from The Bascom, a renowned local art center that offers classes in ceramics and sculpture. But guests would be forgiven, too, for opting to just hang out, in the lobby made for lounging, or on the Inn’s porch. Regardless, it’s a place that makes you wish summer would go on forever.

To learn more visit outpostinnhighlands.com.

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