I grew up in mountain towns in Idaho. And though my love of the Great Smoky Mountains has been well-documented, those mountains always feel like something completely different than the mountains where I was raised.

That real estate adage, “location, location, location,” applies to lodges in the Tennessee State Park system. The lure of these accommodations is the proximity to all the parks have to offer. But it also doesn’t completely apply, because for years, some of the lodges were a little neglected.…

For many globetrotters, the joy of travel comes from exploring alongside fellow adventurers who share a wonder about the world. Three organizations in Nashville pull together like-minded travelers to forge local relationships as well as global itineraries.

If you like your vacation to feel like it’s set in a movie, say, Dirty Dancing’s Kellerman’s Mountain House (except Southern), then High Hampton is probably for you. This idyllic mountain getaway has been around since 1922. And in 2021, the Beall family (best known for their Blackberry Farm …

When Sylvan Park residents Erin and Alex Tolbert decided to renovate the historic home at 4511 Elkins Ave., reimaging it with eight guest suites for visitors and locals alike, it was a challenge to categorize what they were creating. 

Fearrington Village, home to the Fearrington House Inn, began in 1974 on an old dairy farm. I fact-checked that number several times to make sure I didn’t misunderstand. Parts of this lush, secluded village feel like they were built centuries earlier, with buildings and pathways thoughtfully…

At my first dinner at Wilder, the farm-to-table restaurant at Windy Hill Farm and Preserve, I spilled red wine on my white linen blouse. As I reached for a glass of water to blot the stain, the bartender rushed across the room, an orange Tide to Go pen in hand. Working behind the bar means t…

In the eighth century, the Vikings became historical titans of maritime travel through their spread of influence across Europe. Centuries later, as a titan of assisted solo traveling, I visited my friend studying abroad in Copenhagen, Denmark, with only one preplanned excursion: a minicruise…

Built in 1847, the Grand Hotel Golf Resort & Spa was once a 40-room hotel on the banks of Alabama’s Mobile Bay, only accessible by steamboat. Today, the hotel has been through ownership changes, climate disasters and different uses. Much has changed — you can now drive there, for example…

The Chloe Nashville, a charming 19-room boutique hotel with New Orleans roots, is already popular with locals. Within weeks of opening in Hillsboro Village, the hotel proved to be the perfect place to seek refuge from an ice storm, with its cozy aesthetic, welcoming bars and blazing lobby fi…

“Civilization begins with distillation,” William Faulkner once said. If that’s true, then perhaps Bardstown, Ky., is the center of civilization. Since the 1950s, Bardstown has been known as the Bourbon Capital of the World, a designation that notes the area’s 11 distilleries and the water fl…

While many seasoned travelers rush to tropical destinations to escape the winter chill, others seek closer-to-home getaways. These Tennessee properties don’t just offer a much-needed respite. They wholeheartedly embrace what winter has to offer, encouraging guests to rest, hibernate and conn…

If you look at a list of things that elicited awe and wonder in 1902 and compare them to what impresses a jaded audience in 2026, the overlap might be small. One exception is the synchronized light show that illuminates a 200-foot dome at 9:04 p.m. nightly at Indiana’s West Baden Springs Hot…

Alabama’s Gulf Coast is unlike other beach communities. According to The Nature Conservancy, the state is among the most biologically diverse in the country, with 20 fish species not found anywhere else. Alabama has more navigable stream miles than any other state, and much of its coastline …

North Georgia isn’t immediately synonymous with winemaking, but at Chateau Elan, you get to experience the first winery and vineyard built in the area since Prohibition. It started as a small vineyard producing muscadine wine and now includes a 3,500-acre resort with vineyards, a winery, a s…

When I studied abroad in the United Kingdom, my favorite pastime was indexing the songs I heard wherever I went. While I couldn’t escape global chart-toppers, even in the UK’s most rural villages, I found myself surrounded by live music that sounded familiar — country with a distinctly Celti…

Hanging out in a small-town paradise, where everyone calls you by your name, where you can let your kids ride their bikes unattended in a safe loop around your cottage, where you can walk your dog through manicured trails and spend the evening swapping stories with your neighbors, might soun…

If you sit in traffic for hours dreaming of a vacation where you don’t have to spend any time in a car, Haig Point is the destination for you. Haig Point sits on the north end of Daufuskie Island, a car-free (and carefree) South Carolina island located near the more well-known Hilton Head. A…

Nobody is rushing at The Greenbrier Resort. From the moment you drive past the gate and onto the manicured property, you’ll notice it. This is a place where people don’t walk or run, they stroll — they admire. Even with its extensive schedule of events and activities, the pace of The Greenbr…

When I checked in at The Swag, an attentive staff member handed me a menu asking me to choose my lunch order for the next day. Lunches are served to-go — the idea being I could eat it in an Adirondack chair, looking at the Great Smoky Mountains. Or take it with me on a hike. (The resort shar…

Under the hot South African sun, a pride of lions crouches in the grass, eyes locked on a nearby herd of Cape buffalo. Muscles twitch with anticipation. A break in the line: A calf drifts too far from the others, unaware of the danger lurking inches away, hidden in the golden brush.

Over a year ago, I took an unforgettable voyage to three Nordic countries: Iceland, Sweden and Denmark. But this voyage wasn’t a vacation — it was a school trip. Belmont University filled my college years with educational experiences that were anything but ordinary. Luckily for me, my studie…

When my colleague, Nfocus editor-in-chief Janet Kurtz, asked me to write about my recent “gentlemen’s trip to Iceland,” my first thought was, “That is an extremely generous application of the term ‘gentlemen.’”

Location, location, location. That’s the mantra behind real estate, of course. It’s also one of the ways the historic Keswick Hall stands out in a world of luxury resorts. Keswick Hall is nestled at the foot of the Blue Ridge Mountains, just minutes from Charlottesville, Va., and the Univers…

A lot has changed in the wellness industry since Deborah Szekely and her husband founded Rancho La Puerta 85 years ago. The kinds of classes offered, the accommodations, the food and even the roads to the property are different. But what’s endured is the commitment to a healthy lifestyle, a …

If you only know billionaire Johnny Morris as the CEO of Bass Pro Shops and only know Bass Pro from your experiences at Opry Mills, you’ll be in for a surprise at Big Cedar Lodge. The same holds true if you only know Branson, Mo., for its amusement parks and neon-encrusted light shows.

Henry County, Ga., is less than an hour’s drive southeast of the Atlanta airport, and it’s probably best known as the home of the Atlanta Motor Speedway. The 850-acre complex hosts two weekends of the NASCAR Cup Series each year, along with car shows, concerts and other events. Thanks to the…

When you check into The Horse Shoe Farm in Hendersonville, N.C., you’ll be given a folded piece of paper, about the size of a business card. As you open it, you’ll see an invitation to The Ponder Wander. This is an illustrated encouragement to take a meditative, self-guided exploration of th…

Susan Wiley Cooper Walker moved to East Tennessee from Pennsylvania in 1932 to be close to her sister, who was married to the Maryville College chaplain. Susan had a vision and built a 26-room, Classical-Revival-style home. She then surrounded it with a lush garden, meandering pathways, a ca…

When you drive up the mountain road to the entrance of Cloudland at McLemore Resort — at 2,300 feet above sea level, past the golf courses and the private homes — and turn to look at the hotel where you will be tucked away for the duration of your stay, you quickly realize where the resort g…

In a regular column for 2025, journalist Margaret Littman highlights unusual luxury travel experiences, particularly those that are an easy trip from Nashville.

In a regular column for 2025, journalist Margaret Littman highlights unusual luxury travel experiences, particularly those that are an easy trip from Nashville.

In a new regular column, journalist Margaret Littman highlights unusual luxury travel experiences, particularly those that are an easy trip from Nashville.

Editor’s note: This story was written before Hurricane Helene and some information has been removed due to road and trail closures. Please check with the park service or with Smoky Mountain Guides to ensure road and trail availability.

The Center for Health & Wellbeing — the name makes it sound like it could be anywhere. But this is The Center for Health & Wellbeing at the Four Seasons Westlake Village. So while the name may be nondescript, the experience is unlike what you’ll find anywhere else.

Mahavir Patel did the unthinkable. Aatmos, the hospitality company Mahavir owns with his brother Dev, just opened the Historic Rocky Waters Inn, a luxury hotel in Gatlinburg, Tennessee. Yes, that Gatlinburg.

After moving to Nashville seven years ago from New York City, we still yearn to get back to the concrete jungle a few times a year. With dozens of direct flights from here to NY, we know we are not alone in our wanderlust. The biggest question is where does one stay? It is so easy to get coe…

Deep in the coastal waters and estuaries of Louisiana lives one of New Orleans’ trademark culinary delights — oysters. Oysters have long been a mainstay of the working-class dining table and have recently ascended to the white-clothed tables of the city’s top eateries.

I may be a little biased.But each time another friend posts photos of their trip to Paris on social media, I want to shake them a little. That’s not real France, I want to offer. Until you’ve left the Paris bubble of overdone — though cool — tourist attractions, you’ve not experienced the tr…

Situated on the coast of the Panama Bay in the Gulf of Panama lies the Isthmus of Panama. This stretch of biodiverse land connects North and South America and is home to the Panama Canal. Cradled in the heart of the strip of land sits the country of Panama and its eponymous capital city. Wit…

While family-friendly travel offers abundant opportunities for memory making, sometimes it’s nice to spare a moment for a just-the-two-of-us escape. From intimate waterside villas in the Maldives to shopping Jordan’s famous Rainbow Street, the world is waiting to offer a romantic getaway for two.

Each morning, as the sun rises over the Duck River, the water continues its lazy flow to the Tennessee River. The tree canopy shields the flora and fauna that inhabit the area along the river’s shore from the harsh midday sun, as it has for thousands of years. Beneath the surface of the wate…

I’ve traveled the world covering some of the top food scenes from Modena to New York City, and everywhere in between. But, the lesser known towns never cease to amaze me. If last year’s list of James Beard Foundation Award Winners (including the Best Chef of the South awarded to Natalia Vall…