When we met Elsie, an ambassador at Balsam Mountain Trust, she had just returned from a meet and greet at a local elementary school. Her friend Tilia was getting a dose of medicine and Apollo was eyeing us with shy curiosity.
They are among 18 well-loved wild animal ambassadors who reside at the Balsam Mountain Trust near Sylva, North Carolina in the Southern Blue Ridge Mountains. The Nature Center offers classes and guided hikes across 40 miles of conservation trails. Inside, displays include a collection of Indigenous People’s artifacts found on the Preserve, from BCE 9,000 - 6,000 and reports on the water and land conservation efforts across the hilly 4,400 acres.
These efforts and attitudes that put nature first are the cornerstones at Balsam Mountain Preserve, a newer mountain home community with an Arnold Palmer Signature Course, active tennis and fitness center, growing equestrian program, and two celebrated restaurants and bars.
The beautifully manicured golf course winds through the hills and valleys of western North Carolina. Playing to 6,824 yards with a par of 70, the course is one of the amenities that entice homeowners to buy or build at Balsam Mountain Preserve.
A sprawling fitness center with an outdoor pool, tennis and pickleball courts, and day spa, plus a growing equestrian program housed in a charming barn dot the grounds of the mountain community, a unique new destination between Sylva and Waynesville.
Of Balsam Mountain Preserve’s 4,400 acres, 3,200 are protected. Plans call for 354 homes with all of the luxury estates, village homes, homesteads, and cabin and cottages fractional adhering to the International Dark Sky Association guidelines for outdoor lighting, which fosters privacy and stargazing.
There are also 40 miles of Class A trout streams where you’ll stumble upon waterfalls, relics from the property’s long ago garnet mining, and logging operations, but rarely another angler or hiker.
When we visited Balsam Mountain Preserve, we expected just another prestigious golf community with stunning mountain estates, what we found was a community with a heart.
On the sprawling stone patio outside the signature restaurants, The Summit House and adjacent Mine Tavern, we met homeowners around a giant wood fireplace. Some were just off the golf course, others were gathering with neighbors for a happy hour or two before doing into dinner, a casual but elevated affair with Executive Chef Edwin Bloodworth at the helm. Flavors are innovative and memorable, with fresh local ingredients featured, served by friendly and capable professionals. Sometimes club dining rooms can be stuffy. All the spaces at Balsam Mountain Preserve are airy and open, with amenities and design that seem right at home.
One of the true treasures is an 18-foot, hand crafted dining table adjacent to the glass-walled wine cellar — cut from an old growth red oak tree. This piece is one of many inspired by or sourced from the property.
This is part of what draws people to the Preserve. There are 100 completed homes, with more under construction. With homesteads still available, Director of Sales, Sean McLaughlin explains, “Our full-time residents (about 30 percent) are very close-knit. And, it’s not uncommon for a family to dip their toes in with shared ownership, with the next step - a custom residence or homestead property.” Most properties border on a portion of the 3,400-acre conservation easement.