Sylva & Dillsboro
Where we send guests for dinner
Dillsboro (7 miles) and Sylva (9 miles) are the lodge’s home towns: small, walkable and better fed than you would expect. This is where we send guests for dinner.
- From the lodge
- 7 mi / ~15 min to Dillsboro · 9 mi / ~15–20 min to Sylva
- Allow
- An evening, or a lazy afternoon of shops, a brewery and the courthouse steps
- Kids
- Tubing the Tuck, the glassblowing studio, ice cream on Front Street
- Parking
- Free on-street in both towns
Where we send people to eat
Our short list, all within ten miles of the lodge:
- Foragers Canteen, 5 Grindstaff Cove Rd, Sylva: seasonal, locally sourced Southern cooking beside the creek; lunch, dinner and weekend brunch (closed Tuesdays)
- Lulu’s on Main, 678 W Main St, Sylva: a long-time local favorite for dinner
- Lucy in the Rye, 612 W Main St, Sylva: scratch-made breakfast and lunch
- Creekside Oyster House & Grill, 219 W Main St, Sylva: seafood with tables by the creek
- Boots Steakhouse, 64 Front St, Dillsboro: hand-cut steaks; book ahead on weekends
- Haywood Smokehouse, Dillsboro: hickory-smoked barbecue, named to Yelp’s Top 100 in 2024
- RNR (Rivers & Rails) Tavern, Dillsboro: nachos, sandwiches and brunch, easy with a group
Sylva’s Main Street
The old Jackson County Courthouse, now the library, sits at the top of 107 steps and is often called the most photographed courthouse in North Carolina. Below it: City Lights Bookstore & Café, antique shops, and three breweries within a few blocks of each other.
- Innovation Brewing, 414 W Main St
- Balsam Falls Brewing, 506 W Main St, with a kitchen
- Lazy Hiker Brewing Sylva Taproom, 617 W Main St
Dillsboro’s Front Street
A one-street town on the Tuckasegee: Dogwood Crafters (a co-op since 1976), the Jackson County Green Energy Park where glassblowers work off landfill gas, and Dillsboro River Company for tubes and rafts in summer. The railroad’s Tuckasegee excursion stops here for a layover.
A little further
Pinnacle Park above Sylva has the steep 7-mile round trip to the Pinnacle, one of the best views in the county. Judaculla Rock, a boulder covered in Cherokee petroglyphs, is 40 minutes toward Cullowhee. Western Carolina University’s Bardo Arts Center brings touring shows to Cullowhee, 30 minutes from the lodge.
Where to stay
Then come back up the hill
Every restaurant on this page is within ten miles of the lodge. Eat in town, then drive one mile up a paved road to the quiet.
Common questions
Where should I eat near The Lodge at Smoky Cove?
In Sylva and Dillsboro, 15 minutes away. In Sylva: Foragers Canteen (farm-to-table Southern cooking by the creek), Lulu’s on Main, Lucy in the Rye for breakfast and the Main Street breweries. In Dillsboro: Boots Steakhouse, Haywood Smokehouse and RNR Tavern.
Is Dillsboro worth visiting?
For an afternoon, yes: Front Street’s shops, the glassblowing studio at the Green Energy Park, tubing on the Tuckasegee in summer, and dinner at Boots Steakhouse or Haywood Smokehouse.
More places nearby
The Tuck at Dillsboro 7 mi · Cherokee waters 10 mi · Deep Creek & the Oconaluftee 14–15 mi
13 mi / ~20 min to the depot · 24 mi / ~30 min to NOC
10 mi / ~15 min to Harrah’s · 11 mi to the museum
Sleep up the hill from here
Rooms from $189 a night, or the entire lodge for a group.