North Carolina is home to quite a number of ghost towns found deep in the woods and only accessible by way of a trail cut through the forest. One of the most fascinating ruins you’ll encounter trail side in the Tar Heel State is that of the old Rattlesnake Lodge, near Weaverville and Bull Gap. Built in 1903 as a summer house for the Chase P. Ambler family, Rattlesnake Lodge was then – and still is – accessible by a narrow, 3.7-mile loop trail through the wilderness.
Each summer from 1903 through 1920 when the family sold the house, Mrs. Ambler and the children would pack up and move to Rattlesnake Lodge until the day before school started up again in the fall.
Facebook/Rattlesnake Lodge Ruins Dad would join on most weekends, and a large contingency of guests would arrive back-to-back all summer long.
The lodge caught fire six years after the Amblers sold it. Presumably, a bolt of lightning caused the demise of the summer retreat. But visitors can still hike to the ruins of this wonderful family retreat that was located so deep into the forest.
AllTrails/Srisu Subrahmanyam The trailhead is found just off the Blue Ridge Parkway near 667 Ox Creek Rd, Weaverville, NC 28787.
As if hiking to a destination in the woods with the word “rattlesnake” in the name isn’t bizarre enough, this little trail is mysterious enough in other ways, too.
AllTrails/Christopher Ballard Keep a keen eye for oddball things like this miniature shrine and altar resting between two large boulders on the trail. You just never know what you’ll find here.
Even this little TripAdvisor gnome pops up from time to time, seeming to change his position and location all on his own.
AllTrails/Ahmed Fouad Another thing to keep an eye out for? Snakes.
The lodge got its clever name honestly. In this photo from the early 1900s, snake skins from snakes found on the property line the ceiling of the lodge. The Rattlesnake Lodge website states that 41 rattlesnakes were killed at or near the lodge in the first three years alone.
Rattlesnake Lodge To create a safer space for the children to play and more easily see snakes, the family cleared a huge area in front of the lodge for them to play.
Today, visitors hiking into the ruins of Rattlesnake Lodge will encounter the remnants from several structures.
AllTrails/Rachel Director There’s the foundation of the old caretaker’s house, part of a reservoir, and
The remnants of the family swimming pool, which was not considered very deep.
Facebook/Rattlesnake Lodge Ruins It filled up naturally with waters from a spring farther up the mountain.
The Ambler family enjoyed many a summer holed up in the hills of North Carolina at their remote Rattlesnake Lodge.
Facebook/Rattlesnake Lodge Ruins What wonderful childhood memories each one of them must have had.
Visitors hiking into the ruins will encounter a kiosk or two placed by the family; many of which never knew the glory of the actual lodge and thrive only on the memories handed down through the decades by older family members.
AllTrails/Steve Hargis
Have you ever made the hike up the ruins of Rattlesnake Lodge?
Facebook/Rattlesnake Lodge Ruins
Let us know in the comments! And join our North Carolina Nature Lovers group on Facebook to share your images from this trail! Learn more about the trail from our friends at AllTrails, and read up on the old Rattlesnake Lodge by visiting the family’s website for the lodge.
Facebook/Rattlesnake Lodge Ruins
Dad would join on most weekends, and a large contingency of guests would arrive back-to-back all summer long.
AllTrails/Srisu Subrahmanyam
The trailhead is found just off the Blue Ridge Parkway near 667 Ox Creek Rd, Weaverville, NC 28787.
AllTrails/Christopher Ballard
Keep a keen eye for oddball things like this miniature shrine and altar resting between two large boulders on the trail. You just never know what you’ll find here.
AllTrails/Ahmed Fouad
Another thing to keep an eye out for? Snakes.
Rattlesnake Lodge
To create a safer space for the children to play and more easily see snakes, the family cleared a huge area in front of the lodge for them to play.
AllTrails/Rachel Director
There’s the foundation of the old caretaker’s house, part of a reservoir, and
It filled up naturally with waters from a spring farther up the mountain.
What wonderful childhood memories each one of them must have had.
AllTrails/Steve Hargis
Love hiking to abandoned places? Read all about the trail to the ghost town of Lost Cove in North Carolina, here.
OnlyInYourState may earn compensation through affiliate links in this article.
Address: Bull Gap Trailhead - Rattlesnake Lodge Trail, 667 Ox Creek Rd, Weaverville, NC 28787, USA
