Highlands, North Carolina has been a vacation favorite of people from the southeastern United States for over 100 years. Part of its appeal is that it is not really on the way to anywhere else. You have to want to go there. It does lie along US Highway 64, but nowhere between any significant other destinations. The nearest other towns are Franklin to the northwest and Cashiers to the east, also along Highway 64. One may wonder why it is there. Highlands was created in 1875 by developers from Kansas, w
They thought this location would be a nexus of trade of the future and that Highlands would have a large population. That never happened. Hauling freight up and down mountains 4,000 feet above sea level is a daunting task. Just ask the Highlands architects . Even driving a normal sedan up and down the mountain between Highlands and Franklin is challenging, with the winding Cullasaja Gorge creating beautiful vistas along the narrow twisting road. Often, one’s vehicle is mere inches from the guardrail (w
However, the fact that the place existed and had a toehold in the mountains was enough for others to come here to vacation, particularly from Atlanta, which lies only about 1-1/2 to 2 hours to the southwest. Hundreds of homes have been built here since then and thousands of people enjoy vacationing here every year. These days, the finer homes in Highlands can cost millions of dollars and are designed by leading mountain home architects , which are often Highlands architects .