Looking Glass Mountain Cabin

The Looking Glass Mountain Cabin has the most dramatic mountain views of the four ridge top cabins at Engadine. Its covered porch faces directly toward Looking Glass Rock, the famous granite formation in Pisgah National Forest that the cabin is named for, and the layered Blue Ridge Mountains stretching west beyond it. On a clear evening, this is the porch on the property guests linger on the longest.

Inside, the cabin uses the same comfortable park model layout as the other three ridge top cabins. A queen sized bed in the bedroom, a queen sleeper sofa in the living area, a fireplace operated seasonally from mid October through mid March, a small dining table for two, and a fully equipped galley kitchen for the kind of stay where you actually want to cook one or two meals rather than eat out every night. The bathroom is a tub and shower combination.

What separates this cabin from the others is the view. The porch sight line is clean, open, and pointed at one of the most photographed mountains in Western North Carolina. If you are a photographer, a serious hiker who plans to spend time on the Pisgah trails, or a couple who wants the cabin most associated with the regional iconography of these mountains, Looking Glass is the cabin to book.

This cabin is family and pet friendly. It also accommodates up to four guests, which makes it a strong fit for a small family or two couples traveling together who want the dramatic view to be the centerpiece of the stay. Outside the porch, you have a fire pit with Adirondack chairs, a charcoal grill, and a hammock. The porch itself is the part most guests use, so the rocking chairs out there are practically a feature of the cabin’s character.

A fresh breakfast, with eggs often sourced from our own chickens and quail, is available at the inn for an additional charge per person, and many Looking Glass guests use the inn’s breakfast at least once during a multi night stay before heading out for a Pisgah hike or a drive on the Parkway. Coffee maker, basic pantry essentials, and a small supply of breakfast items are in the cabin if you’d rather start the day on your own porch with the view.

The Looking Glass Rock you watch from the porch sits inside the same Pisgah forest you can hike into from the cabin. The way there starts as a moderate walk down a switchback road to Hominy Creek and the old Biltmore railroad grade. Cross the creek and it becomes a strenuous climb up into the Pisgah trail system, which threads out across hundreds of miles of ridge and forest. The entire route stays on Engadine land and the public land beside it, with no private property to cross. Few places let you look at a mountain from the porch and then walk into it. We covered a piece of the route on the blog.

Book the Looking Glass Mountain Cabin directly through our website for the best available rate. If you are planning around photography, please mention it at booking, especially if you want a sense of which weekends in your travel window have the best light or view conditions. We’ll tell you what we know.

• Luxury bed and bath linens
• Central HVAC
• Smart TV with basic cable
• Space suitable for working
• Fireplace (operated seasonally)
• Outdoor fire pit with Adirondack chairs
• Hammock
• Family friendly
• Pet friendly
• Mountain views
• Accommodates up to four guests

See this cabin on our property map and compare its location with the inn and other cabins.