10/10 Excellent
Caleb C.
Feb 15, 2024
Liked: Cleanliness
Lovely little place!
We first stayed at The Bear Den last October. It was the perfect place to come back to after a long day of hiking. The hot tub, the recliners, and the fireplace all contributed to making it cozy and relaxing especially when we were sore and worn out 🙃. Great view out the back, and we even saw several elk walk right up the driveway! The bed was also quite comfortable. The best part though is that Don is a great host who goes out of his way to be helpful—we found this out when we decided to extend a vacation this winter by coming back to Maggie Valley after spending a week in Banner Elk. On short notice Don went above and beyond to accommodate us and it really capped off our trip on a high note.
The location is great as well, only about 5 minutes away from Joey’s Pancake House in one direction (get there early in peak season, though not nearly as busy in winter), and the Blue Ridge Parkway in the other (both directions were closed for the winter but it was open right at the junction where you can access one trailhead).
One thing to be aware of is that Google Maps doesn’t think you can turn left from the main road onto the drive—it will try to send you on a weird double-back-and-around route but we soon learned that it’s easier to ignore that and turn left (if you have a very large SUV it might be hard to make the turn, but for reference a Kia Sportage did just fine).
Caleb C.
Stayed 2 nights in Feb 2024