- You know, to welcome summer in a very relaxing way, why not rent a cabin in the mountains?

We found the perfect spot near Spruce Pine.

It's called Springmaid Mountain, and it's the perfect vacation, rain or shine.

[upbeat music] - Waking up each morning, there's not a bad view from any window in the house.

Go to the kitchen, look out the window, I can see the horses down in the pasture, see the ducks on the pond, just see the earth waking up in the morning here.

That's a great feeling.

Sometimes, you see the fog coming up off the pond.

When it's snowing, it's quiet, and you see the snow coming down.

[gentle music] Springmaid Mountain is a 400-acre retreat here in Spruce Pine, North Carolina.

We're about a mile and a half off the Blue Ridge Parkway.

We're in between Asheville and Boone right here in the Blue Ridge Mountains.

[gentle music continues] So I started as a temporary trail guide just to get me through to the spring, and here I am 17 years later still here.

What brings people to Springmaid Mountain, I think is the peace, the quiet, the coziness of the cabins, just getting away from the hustle and bustle of everyday city life.

But one of the fun things here on the property is the Swinging Bridge.

Kids love to get on it, jump on it, get it swinging.

Here on site, we have horseback riding.

We have five ponds for fishing.

We have the North Toe River.

And the summertime, we have inner tubes where you can float down the river.

And we have hiking trails, horseshoe pits, cornhole boards.

The trail rides, you leave the barn area, you'll go up some of the trails and then you'll cross the North Toe river a couple of times, which is always a highlight.

It's a great experience for any level of rider.

- Hey, welcome.

- Hey.

Nice to meet you.

- Yeah, you too.

All right, this is Starley.

- So this is my first time on a horse.

- Yeah.

- What are some things that I should know being a first time rider?

- Try to stay calm.

They can actually hear your heartbeat from four feet away.

So if you're really excited, they can feel that you're excited.

And when you get comfortable, you'll notice they'll all start breathing on the ride.

It's like a pfffft, pfffft, pfffft, and you're like, wow, that's a lot of breathing.

[upbeat music] So if I want Starley to go, I'm gonna point her head where I want her to go and give her a kiss.

[lip-smacking] The kiss is working very slowly.

Good girl.

You can always give him a pet, say, "Hey, thank you.

Good job."

Thanks.

Good job.

[upbeat music] [upbeat music continues] [upbeat music continues] She is just breathing.

It's totally a normal thing.

[upbeat music continues] - Is there anything else that I need to know before coming out here?

- We require that every participant shows up half an hour early for time to have the trip talk.

[upbeat music continues] - We have 16 different size cabins.

Our largest is our bunkhouse cabin, which will accommodate 40 people.

It has a commercial kitchen.

Everything in it is set up for a large group.

And then in the cabins go down inside.

We've got a five bedroom cabin that sleeps up to 12.

We got some three bedroom cabins that sleep six people.

And then we go down to two and one bedroom cabins.

Total, if we were completely full, every bed, we can sleep 120 people in here.

So this is our pavilion.

We host wedding receptions, birthday parties, family reunions.

On site, we also have a small campground that we can accommodate up to about a 30 foot travel trailer.

So we've got something forever budget.

Even on a rainy day like today, don't let that hinder you from visiting.

All the cabins have gas logs in there.

Great time to curl up with your favorite book.

Definitely a good time to visit year round.

- [Deborah] Springmaid Mountain Retreat and Stable is at 2171 Henredon Road in Spruce Pine.

To book your cabin or schedule a horseback ride, give them a call at [828] 765-2353 or visit them online at springmaidmountain.com.