Southeast
Southeast
Cashiers & Highlands, North Carolina
A 3,800-foot plateau where summer highs sit in the seventies, the waterfalls outnumber the traffic lights, and a public tee time is the scarcest thing on the mountain.
Overview
Cashiers and Highlands sit on a high Southern Appalachian plateau between 3,400 and 3,800 feet, and that altitude is the whole story. While Atlanta and Greenville swelter, this corner of western North Carolina runs 10-15°F cooler, which is why generations of Lowcountry and Piedmont families have summered here. It is an upscale, understated resort community of shingled cottages, garden clubs, and gated golf enclaves, and it suits groups who want refined mountain golf and a genuinely good dinner rather than a party weekend.
The golf takes some navigating, because the plateau's most famous names are firmly private. Wade Hampton and its neighbors are members-only, and Burlingame Country Club in Sapphire Valley, a George Cobb mountain layout, is private as well: the course is open only to members and their guests. Sapphire National Golf Club, the Ron Garl layout ten minutes from Cashiers that used to be the plateau's public-access anchor, is currently closed. Its owners are in a maintenance dispute with the Sapphire Valley Master Association, and no reopening date has been announced. That leaves Sequoyah National as the reliable public round. It's a Robert Trent Jones II design near Cherokee, about an hour west, with the most dramatic Great Smoky Mountain terrain in the region. Plan this trip as a plateau stay with one big golf day, or come with a member invitation in hand.
Practically, this is a driving trip through winding two-lane mountain roads, and you should treat the drive times as real rather than optimistic. Cashiers and Highlands are ten miles apart but separated by the steep switchbacks of US-64, and Sequoyah sits about an hour west near Cherokee. Groups of four to eight do best here, ideally split across a rented mountain home or a resort base. Bring a jacket even in July, and plan at least one afternoon around a waterfall, because Whitewater Falls, the highest east of the Rockies, is fifteen minutes from Sapphire.
Courses · 3
Sapphire National Golf Club
Semi-Private · Championship
Closed (reopening date not announced)
Best for: Nothing at the moment. The course is closed, so plan around Sequoyah National until a reopening is confirmed.
Insider tip: Check the status before every trip. The course has been caught in a dispute between its owners and the Sapphire Valley Master Association over maintenance and covenant obligations. Any reopening will likely be phased, so ask how many holes are open and what condition they're in before paying a full-course rate.
Sequoyah National Golf Club
Public · Championship
$59-$145
Best for: The most dramatic scenery of the trip and the best value on a weekday. Also the right choice if part of your group wants to pair golf with the Cherokee cultural sites or the casino.
Insider tip: The elevation changes here are the steepest you will play in the region, and the altitude bump compounds them. A downhill tee shot at 3,000-plus feet can travel 20-30 yards past your normal number, so take less club and aim for the fat part of the fairway. Budget an hour each way from Cashiers.
Burlingame Country Club
Private · Moderate
Private (member-guest only)
Best for: Only groups with a member host. For them it is a shorter, more strategic mountain test and a true private-club experience.
Insider tip: At 6,100 yards this is the shortest card of the three, and the altitude effectively shortens it further, so leave the driver in the bag on most holes. Position off the tee beats power here. If you're playing as a member's guest, lean on your host's local knowledge, which is worth several shots on a first visit.
Lodging
Premium
The Canyon Kitchen at Lonesome Valley
$300-$600An upscale cottage community set in a natural rock amphitheater outside Cashiers, with the region's best restaurant on the property. The cottages are full homes rather than hotel rooms, which suits a group that wants shared living space and a kitchen. Book well ahead in summer, as the community is small and turns over slowly.
High Hampton Resort
$250-$500The historic anchor of Cashiers, recently and expensively renovated, set on Lake Hampton beneath Rock Mountain. Rooms in the inn plus cottages, a full dining program, lake activities, and the most polished service on the plateau. It is the easiest single base for a group that wants everything on one property and non-golfers who need something to do.
Mid-Range
Sapphire Valley Resort
$150-$300Slopeside condos and homes in Sapphire Valley. Units run from two to four bedrooms, so a group of six or eight can spread out affordably. Sapphire National next door is currently closed, but guests can play the resort's own Red Bird 9-hole executive course along the Horsepasture River for a casual warm-up.
Mountain cabin rentals
$175-$450Private mountain homes scattered along the Cashiers-Highlands corridor, ranging from simple two-bedroom cabins to substantial view houses. Split four or six ways, the per-person cost lands well under a hotel and you get a kitchen, a deck, and a place to pour a drink after the round. Confirm the driveway grade before booking in shoulder season, since some are steep enough to matter in ice.
Dining
The Canyon Kitchen
$$$$American / Fine Dining
A chef-driven seasonal menu served in a restored barn at Lonesome Valley, with the rock walls of the canyon as the backdrop. This is the big group dinner of the trip and worth building an evening around. Seasonal hours and limited seating mean you should reserve as soon as your dates are set.
Mica's
$$$Southern / Contemporary
Upscale contemporary Southern cooking in Sapphire with a serious craft cocktail program. It sits in the middle of Sapphire Valley, which makes it the natural dinner stop on the way home from a day of golf or waterfalls, and the bar is a good place for the group to reconvene. Reserve for parties of six or more.
Buck's Coffee Café
$Café
A Cashiers institution and the standard pre-round stop for coffee and a quick bite. Opens early enough for a first tee time and sits right in the middle of town. Expect to see half the plateau's golfers there at seven in the morning.
The Ugly Dog Pub
$$Pub / American
The Highlands gathering spot and the closest thing the plateau has to a proper bar scene. Solid comfort food, plenty of taps, and no need to plan ahead. This is where the group ends up when nobody wants another tasting menu.
Pro Tips
- 1
Sequoyah National is the only reliably public championship course within reach. Sapphire National is closed with no reopening date, and Burlingame is private. Book the Sequoyah tee time before you book flights, especially for peak summer or an October weekend, and build the rest of the trip around it.
- 2
The plateau runs 10-15°F cooler than the lowlands in summer, which is the real draw. It also means mornings in the upper 50s in July, so pack a mid-layer and a rain shell even for an August trip.
- 3
Do not confuse the private clubs with your options. Wade Hampton, Burlingame and several neighbors dominate the local golf conversation and are strictly members-only, so ignore them unless someone in the group has a member host, and plan the golf around Sequoyah National.
- 4
Check Sapphire National's status before you plan around it. It was the plateau's public-access anchor, but in 2026 it is closed amid an ownership and maintenance dispute. Call the course or Sapphire Valley Resort management for an update rather than trusting old reviews or third-party booking sites.
- 5
Give Sequoyah National a full day, not a squeezed afternoon. It is an hour each way from Cashiers, and the drive pairs naturally with the Cherokee cultural sites or Harrah's, which turns a long transfer into the group's non-golf day.
- 6
At 3,400 to 3,800 feet you are gaining roughly 7% of carry, and the steep elevation changes on these courses stack on top of that. Take one less club on approaches until you have calibrated, and expect downhill tee shots to run out far past your usual number.
Sample Itineraries
weekend getaway
3 daysDay 1: Fly into Greenville or Asheville, drive up onto the plateau, and check into Sapphire Valley Resort. Late lunch and a walk through Highlands, then dinner at Mica's to keep the first night easy. Day 2: Early coffee at Buck's Coffee Café, then the hour west to Sequoyah National for the round of the trip. Stop at the Cherokee cultural sites on the way back, then dinner at The Canyon Kitchen, reserved weeks in advance. Day 3: A casual nine at Sapphire Valley's Red Bird executive course or the fifteen-minute run out to Whitewater Falls, lunch at The Ugly Dog Pub in Highlands, and drive back down for evening flights.
full trip
5 daysDay 1: Arrive at Greenville or Asheville and drive up, settling into High Hampton Resort or a rented mountain home. Dinner at Mica's and an early night. Day 2: Buck's Coffee Café for coffee, a morning hike at Whiteside Mountain, afternoon on Lake Glenville, dinner at The Canyon Kitchen. Day 3: The Cherokee day. Drive an hour west for a round at Sequoyah National, spend the afternoon at the Cherokee cultural sites or Harrah's, and eat out that way before driving back. Day 4: A second round at Sequoyah National for the golfers (or a round at Burlingame if someone in the group has a member host), then the waterfall run along US-64 to Dry Falls and Bridal Veil, with dinner and drinks at The Ugly Dog Pub in Highlands. Day 5: A morning of fly fishing on the Tuckasegee or a casual nine at Sapphire Valley's Red Bird course, then a leisurely drive down the escarpment to the airport.
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