lake lure or lake toxaway
 

Looking for a vacation home to stay with beautiful mountain view. Have heard that lake toxaway is beautiful , could anyone let me know if they have traveled to lake lure and lake toxaway and how are the mountain views.
thanks

My husband and I happened upon Lake Lure last weekend, really by accident. We were staying in Asheville,about 45-60 minutes away and were doing a day trip to Black Mountain, an artist colony. We drove to Lake Lure, the drive was absolutely magnificent. It is near Chimney Rock, which is something to see. We had lunch at the Esmeralda Inn, which is also a small hotel. The food was delicious and the view of Chimney Rock enhanced lunch. There are quite a few touristy shops, but many feature handmade items, not the usual stuff. We drove around the lake, which is very nice, took a boat ride and had dinner the Point of View restaurant, also a delicious meal. There is a small sandy beach. I personally couldn't spend a week there, but this would be a great place to stay for a few days and relax. There seemed to be lots of options in lodging, condos, B&Bs, etc. The scenery was great!

I guess I missed something when I went to Lake Lure area. We stayed at a time share but drove around the area. I would say it was pretty but I was underwhelmed.... the little town was nothing, lots of tourist junk...We only stayed a weekend but I would not go back. That said, I am no expert on the area and we may have just been looking in the wrong places.

I think both areas have nice views of the mountains. I go to Lake Lure several times a year. If you look at a map, you'll notice this is the area where the mountains give way to the piedmont. The area has lots of tourist shops, some fine homes, and one of my favorite recommendations for tourist: Chimney Rock.

It has been six or seven years since I visited Lake Toxaway, but I remember it being much less commercial. The nearest large town is Brevard, NC.

Both lakes are man-made if my memory serves me correctly.

I think both lakes have their advantages, with Lake Toxaway being the quieter of the two.

If you would like to know the history of the area, I recommend Touring the Western North Carolina Backroads by Carolyn Sakowski. The book is divided in to manageable day trips and provides historical references along the trip. Both areas are covered in the book.


Mike Honeycutt

I have to agree w/ ColletteRI about Lake Lure. Chimney Rock was great, but lodging and food leaves a lot to be desired. It is a day trip from Lake Toxaway to do Chimney Rock and Lake T. is by far the more desirable for lodging and food, as well as being less crowded. We spent 2 weeks on Lake T. in a rental chalet during leaf season and it was awesome. A lot of waterfall hikes in the area and the water level stays pretty much the same all year.