Sun, Sand, and Swimming

When you enjoy summer on Lake Nantahala, you get the best of all worlds: crisp green foliage, beautiful mountain paths, and the clear, sandy shores surrounding Lake Nantahala. Our crystal clear water means kids can learn about our bountiful fish and aquatic plants as they swim. Swimming is a cornerstone of summer memories. If your child, niece or nephew, or grandchild isn’t comfortable in the water, follow these tips to teach kids to swim in Lake Nantahala.

Set the Stage for Safety

child swimming in the lakeBefore you begin teaching a child to swim, check the surrounding area for fishermen, wildlife, and proximity to the docks. Always supervise a beginner swimmer at all times. Resist the temptation to outfit your child in a life vest as he or she learns. Once a kid learns to swim in a life vest, it’s difficult to teach them to swim on their own. If additional flotation is necessary, let your child explore our North Carolina shores wearing a progressive floating trainer. Grab noodles, kickboards, and inner tubes to help kids learn different swimming skills.

Teach Age Appropriate Techniques

A child’s age determines which swimming techniques he or she can master. For toddlers and preschoolers, teach breathing techniques as you acclimate them to the water. Children aged 4 and up can learn basic kicking and swimming skills. Kids will learn the best swimming techniques at a North Carolina outdoor center class with a registered swim instructor; however, parents can teach kids basic swimming skills and water safety. Make swimming fun by swimming and playing water games while the kids learn. Never abandon a new swimmer to solitary swimming, even if a child is making great progress. Before teaching a kid the backstroke, the breaskstroke, the butterfly, or any other swimming technique, refresh yourself by reading a step-by-step tutorial online.

Make the most of your Lake Nantahala lake house by teaching young friends and family members to swim.

 photo from FreeDigitalPhotos

Planning Your Summer Lake House Stay

summer vacation road tripThis time of year, corporate America is dreaming of warm sand, sunny skies, and cool drinks by the water. Some of us are lucky enough to enjoy pristine water views year round, while others share their Lake Nantahala real estate with family, friends, or renters. If you and your family are slipping away from the hustle and bustle of daily life, follow our Lake Nantahala vacation guide to get the most out of your time in the mountains.

Plan a Lake Nantahala Vacation

  1. Plan Ahead. No one wants to show up to a dusty cabin. If you haven’t visited the lake in awhile, send a cleaning service to tidy up. Does one member of your party have an extra day off work? Compensate them for tidying the lake house and buying groceries with a relaxing afternoon to enjoy the lakeside amenities.
  2. Make a list. There’s nothing worse than realizing you’ve purchased too much food. Save yourself the hassle of tossing groceries—or going back for seconds—by listing the meals, drinks, and snacks you’ll need as you relax by Lake Nantahala. Make a second list for lakeside essentials like sunscreen, beach towels, and your iPod dock. Chances are you can bring those from home.
  3. Research Your Activities. Some people love lounging by the lake for six days straight, while others prefer to explore the adventures of the Nantahala National Forest. The Reflection community is surrounded by beautiful nature trails, campgrounds, and fishing spots. If you want to move beyond your backyard, research the rafting lessons, kayaking excursions, and zipline adventures in the Nantahala Gorge.

No matter what kind of vacation your family enjoys, you won’t get bored at Lake Nantahala. Call Reflection for more information on buying a Nantahala vacation property.

photo from FreeDigitalPhotos

Fair Waters Ahead

When the weather heats up, there’s something about water activities that appeal to us. Maybe it’s the fresh, cool fun of splashing through Lake Nantahala. Maybe it’s a desire to relax. Maybe it’s our sense of adventure wanting to explore terrain that’s been barred to us during the winter. The good news is, whatever your reasons for loving water activities at Lake Nantahala, we’ve got you covered with plenty of options. Here’s how you can have fun in the sun and surf this summer.

Boating

boats on NantahalaWant to lounge on the water with lunch and an ice cold drink? Lake’s End Marina makes boat renting simple. Rent a boat for Lake Nantahala cruising and get started on that summer vacation feel. You can enjoy the sunshine in a pontoon, deck boat, fishing boat, or a canoe. The marina rents by half days and full days, so you can enjoy the open water for as long as you can entertain yourself. Bringing kids along? Want to take a break and act like a kid yourself? Gather some friends together and rent a tube for your day on the lake!

Fishing

Make a memory on those still, fog-laced mornings of spring and summer. Teach your spouse, kids, or grandkids to fish the crystal clear waters of Lake Nantahala. Our waters are brimming with freshwater fish and secluded spots to relax with your line. Just avoid the endangered species!

Rafting

Is your sense of adventure telling you to get moving? Then pack up the car and head to the Nantahala Gorge for a day! Our friends in Bryson City have the scoop on rafting lessons, whitewater boating, and guided tours down the Nantahala River. They’ll keep you safe, happy, and having a blast while you satisfy your inner adventurer.

Want to learn more about North Carolina mountain lake exploration? Call Reflection Lake Nantahala today.

How to Plan the Perfect Picnic

family outdoors - lake nantahalaThe weather is warming, flowers are blooming, and residents of Lake Nantahala are beginning to explore again. Around our Reflection real estate lay copious hiking trails, iridescent waterfalls, and lush mountain views. And what better way to enjoy the beauty of nature than by packing a picnic and enjoying the spring air? Whether you’re celebrating Mother’s Day, springtime, or Memorial Day, here are 5 steps to throwing the perfect Lake Nantahala picnic.

  1. Scout it out. While some of our local adventurers may prefer to strap on their hiking boots and see where the trails take them, it’s better to plan ahead when you’ve packed a full picnic. Choose the perfect spot on one our Reflection community’s nature trails, park areas, or covered gazebos.
  2. Find the right bag. While a picnic basket may look cute and idyllic, the whicker handles are awkward and tiresome to carry. If you’re hiking to your destination, pack your lunch in a backpack or fabric cooler.
  3. Pack the essentials. Your perfect picnic won’t last long if you forget your blanket, silverware, paper plates and plastic cutlery, sunscreen and bug spray, trash bags, and hand sanitizer. You may also want to pack books and outdoor games in your picnic basket, especially if you’re bringing kids along.
  4. Prepare the food. Portable, self-contained foods like pre-cut fruit, sandwiches, and bottled drinks make throwing a picnic a breeze. Pack everything in sealable containers for convenience and fresher food. If you’re throwing a Mother’s Day picnic, make sure your pack the guest of honor her favorite snack.
  5. Bring your camera. Whether you have a high class SLR or you prefer the camera app on your smartphone, you’ll want to capture the memories of your lakeside mountain picnic.

photo from FreeDigitalPhotos

Mother’s Day the Lake House Way

family enjoying mother's day outdoorsMother’s Day is just over a week away, and while many husbands, children, and in-laws have been busily preparing for weeks, others are still scrounging for great gift ideas. If you’re still hunting for that perfect present, take a look at our lake house life Mother’s Day gift guide.

Mother’s Day Gift Guide

The possibilities for Mother’s Day gifts are endless: clothing and accessories, home décor, expensive keepsakes, family heirlooms, or undertaking home improvement projects, just to name a few. Give your mom a truly unique gift to remind her of the places and people she loves. Framed snapshots from summers at Lake Nantahala will remind her of her blessings every day. Find local artwork from a talented artist and hang it in your Reflection lake house, or share one-of-a-kind pottery, quilts, and home décor from a Lake Nantahala craftsman. She’ll love the personal touch.

A Weekend Away

Whisk your mother away from the daily bustle of life and into the beautiful wilds of North Carolina. Take her camping in the Smokey Mountains or stay at a quaint bed and breakfast in Asheville. Spend the whole weekend away or book a Nantahala spa day close to home. She deserves a day of peaceful relaxation.

Home, Sweet Home

If you’re looking to spoil the mom in your life, there’s no better place than your backyard. Lake Nantahala overflows with stunning mountain views, idyllic meadows for picnics, and restful lounge-spots beside the crystal clear waters of the lake. Plan a family get-together to celebrate your mother or pack up the cooler and let her relax all day by the lake. She’ll know she’s appreciated when you take the event planning off her hands.

Reflection Lake Nantahala is blessed by the mothers in our community. Show the moms you love the fruits of their labor with a day of peace and enjoyment.

photo from FreeDigitalPhotos

Planning a Lake House Cookout

Spring has been slow in coming, but our lakeside cabins have finally gotten a dose of this year’s sunshine. After a long, chilly winter, the Reflection community is ready to soak up the warmer weather. Take advantage of the outdoor season by planning a spring cookout for your friends and neighbors in Lake Nantahala.

Set the Tone

The first step to planning a successful cookout is setting the mood. Whether your theme is “beach season” or “home, sweet home,” it’s not a party without a few decorations. Fill a mason jar with Nantahala wildflowers, paint a driftwood sign to welcome guests to your yard, and use patterned fabric to hide unappealing trashcans. Protip: don’t forget to fill your iPod with laid-back lake music before your guests arrive.

Fresh Food

lake house cookout foodIt’s impossible to please everyone, but that’s not going to stop Southern party planners from trying. Make a list of the dietary restrictions of anyone on your guest list. It should be easy to combine various diets into one solution (for example: your lactose intolerant neighbor and your vegan niece can both munch fried okra). Choose at least two main dishes to give your guests options. Planning a potluck eases the stress of cooking sides and desserts, but if you’re throwing the whole shindig yourself, set aside plenty of time in the kitchen. Don’t forget to ice your drinks several hours before the guests arrive. No one likes warm soda on a hot day.

Fun in the Sun

It’s great when your guests are ready to mingle, but sometimes partygoers need a bit of encouragement. Provide a few outdoor games to keep your neighbors entertained during party lulls. Cornhole and croquet are perennial favorites. Do your friends have small kids? Create a corner for kid-friendly crafts and outdoor games. Set up lounge chairs and picnic tables for guests who want to keep an eye on their kids and the crystal clear waters of Lake Nantahala.

Spring parties are a great way to meet your Reflection Lake Nantahala neighbors. Take advantage of the warm weather and throw a cookout at your Nantahala lake house.

photo from FreeDigitalPhotos

Designing Your Dream Home

You’ve signed the papers for your beautiful Lake Nantahala property, you’ve found a skilled architect to design your cabin, and you’re making use of our preferred financing partnership with Nantahala Bank & Trust Company. What’s next? Creating your cabin dream home is an exciting prospect, but as with anything, approaching your lake house design without a clear plan often makes the process stressful. Before your architect draws up the blueprints, plan your lakeside mountain life.

A Home (Away from Home)

How you intend to use your lakeside mountain cabin goes a long way to determining how it’s built. Will the Reflection community be your permanent home or a vacation getaway for you and your family? Do you want a small, quaint mountain retreat to escape from the world or a sprawling, tasteful lake house where you can entertain your grandchildren? Would you like the option of renting your cabin during the off-season, or would you prefer to keep your new home private? These questions will help you determine the size, layout, and structural details of your new Lake Nantahala cabin.

The Community above Lake Nantahala

planning your lake nantahala cabinReflection Lake Nantahala is a comfortable, secure gated community overlooking the placid, shimmering waters of Lake Nantahala. We offer a variety of amenities for our residents, including parks, campsites, golf cart parking, and fire pits. As you design your home, consider which amenities have been provided for you and which amenities you’d like to enjoy privately. Our online Virtual Cabin Tour and Customize Your Cabin features let you tailor your vision of your Nantahala lake house quickly and effortlessly. Once you determine your dream aesthetic, you can call up your architect with a clear view of the lakeside mountain cabin you’ve always wanted.

If you want more information about purchasing Lake Nantahala property, call Reflection Lake Nantahala.

photo from FreeDigitalPhotos

Lounging at Lake’s End

boats on NantahalaOur Reflection community is a rich oasis with opportunities for relaxation, outdoor adventures, and building friendships with neighbors. Our Lake Nantahala real estate nestles in the heart of the Smokey Mountains and the Nantahala National Forest, giving our residents the private splendor of lakeside mountain life. Nearby adventures include the Nantahala River, the Nantahala Gorge, and weekly festivals and adventure tours hosted by our friends at the Nantahala Outdoor Center. But the greatest asset to Reflection Lake Nantahala’s parks and properties is Lake’s End.

Lake’s End Marina

If your sea legs have you hankering for fresh water and warm breezes, it’s time to visit Lake’s End Marina. Dock your fishing vessel at the marina and enjoy full boat storage during the off-season with the No Hassle Boat Program. If you’re still investing in your Reflection cabin home, you can enjoy the freedom of Lake Nantahala boat rentals. Rent a pontoon, ski boat, fishing boat, or canoe for 4 hours or 8 hours of fun.

Lake’s End Diner

Resting just beyond the Lake’s End dock, Lake’s End diner has hosted North Carolina families and visitors for decades. Open spring through fall each year, the diner serves refreshing drinks and classic American food with full Southern flavor. There’s no better place for a refreshing lunch on the lake or a delicious family dinner. Stay for dessert and watch the sunset turn our crystal clear waters into a stunning watercolor you won’t find anywhere else in North Carolina.

Lake’s End Rentals

When the weather heats up, so do our cabin rentals. Lake Nantahala is within easy driving distance of Atlanta, Charlotte, and Asheville, making us the perfect community to host families on vacation or businesses looking for a relaxing corporate retreat. Visitors can rent space in the classic lodge, Sunset Point. Lake’s End makes it simple for Lake Nantahala cabin owners to list their own homes for rent throughout the year. Rent your cabin for a season or pay for your family vacation by hosting another family’s summer retreat.

Make the most of Lake Nantahala life with a little help from Lake’s End.

Lake House Spring Cleaning

lakeside cabin chairs - NC mountainsThe spring season is well underway, but the weather at Lake Nantahala hasn’t gotten the memo. Our days may be warm enough to enjoy fresh, classic dishes at Lake’s End Diner, but boating weather still feels far away. Make use of your spring fever by spring-cleaning your lake house.

Organizing Your Lake House

Whether you live in the Reflection community year-round or your family uses your lakeside cabin seasonally, clutter has a way of building up. If Lake Nantahala is your permanent address, start in the most heavily trafficked areas like bedrooms and kitchens. If you only enjoy mountain lake life a few weeks out of the year, your worst clutter has probably accumulated in the living room or garage. Make separate piles of items to organize and items to throw away. Resort your toss pile to determine if any of your trash is a hidden treasure for a Nantahala charity center.

Cleaning Your Lakeside Cabin

Living in the mountains gives you stunning views and endless outdoor activities. The downside? Dirt, leaves, and sand seem to migrate into every corner of your home. As you deep clean your cabin this spring, don’t forget these essentials:

  • Wash all your linens, including decorative pillows, seasonal comforters, and curtains
  • Vacuum and shampoo carpets and rugs
  • Clean upholstered furniture
  • Move furniture to vacuum dust that’s collected in corners
  • Scrub baseboards and rafters
  • Clean areas in cabinets and under sinks
  • Wash window screens
  • Clean air vents and replace HVAC filters
  • Replace batteries in smoke and carbon monoxide detectors
  • Disinfect as you clean

Preparing Your Stuff for Spring

It’s finally time to dust off the lounge chair: days of relaxing by the lake are almost upon us. Unpack boating and fishing equipment, summer lounge gear, and water toys for the kids. If you don’t have your summer storage system down, spring-cleaning an excellent time to hang hooks for rafts and find a convenient corner for dock chairs. Most of your lakeside equipment should have been cleaned in the fall to prevent mildew and rot, but take a moment to hose off rafts and oil squeaky hinges on lawn chairs. When the warm weather hits, your family will be ready to hit the lake.

photo from FreeDigitalPhotos

Diving into Exploration: the Nantahala Gorge

nc mountain viewFew views in the South compete with the breathtaking mountain view of the Nantahala Gorge. Nestled between the Nantahala National Forest and the Great Smokey Mountains National Park, this scenic spot in the North Carolina mountains overflows with outdoor adventures. Take your family hiking, fishing, mountain biking, or horseback riding near the Nantahala River. For a thrilling adventure high above the trees, take your family on an unforgettable zipline tour through the Nantahala Gorge. Just an hour away from your Lake Nantahala cabin home, Nantahala Gorge adventures are perfect for slow evenings or weekend excursions.

Zipline Tours

If your family loves thrills, enjoys the splendor of nature, and thirsts for knowledge, a Nantahala Gorge Zipline Tour is the perfect weekend venture. State of the art safety equipment keeps your loved ones safe as you glide through the trees, learning about the ecosystems, wildlife, and history of the Nantahala Gorge. Most zipline tours require participants to be at least 10 years old and weigh between 70 and 250 pounds. If you’re exploring with kids too young to soar, split up into groups of ground adventurers and aerial explorers. There’s plenty to learn about Nantahala, North Carolina.

Nantahala Gorge Horseback Riding

Ever feel like you’ve hiked every hill Lake Nantahala has to offer? Explore the world from a new vantage point with horseback riding in the Nantahala Gorge. Pick your destination and decide how long your family wants to explore. Plenty of North Carolina adventure centers offer guided horseback tours of the Nantahala Gorge, so your family can choose the quest best suited to your interests. See the beauty of the Nantahala without wearing out your hiking shoes. If you discover a trail you love, bring your family back for a springtime camping trip.

The world surrounding Lake Nantahala is brimming with beauty and natural wonder. Discover an extraordinary family adventure in the Nantahala Gorge.