BEST VIEW IN THE SMOKIES - Huge Group Lodge - Hot Tub/Game Tables/WIFI

Welcome to Bear Lodge - our second largest of our cabins on our 100-acre Smoky Mountain property. Our 7 cabins are collectively called Tuckaleechee Retreat Center (TRC).

Having a church retreat? Bear Lodge is perfect for women's, men's, family, and couple's retreats. For larger retreats, add 2 or more of our other cabins to your booking, and host up to 100 people. Churches nationwide have been calling our property "home away from home" for their retreats for decades.

Family Reunion? Our property is located in the ideal central location of east TN, only 35 minutes from the Knoxville airport (TYS). Families have returned to our property for decades to enjoy spending that annual quality time together in our peaceful and beautiful mountainside location.

Your stay here matters!
We are a Christian non-profit. Each and every stay supports the work of CBM (Children's Bible Ministries), which we are owned by. Revenue from TRC helps support our missions internship program, our pastor/missionary specials program, and so much more.

CBM's workers manage this property while also serving daily in the mission work of CBM. Most live on property, which makes customer service natural and available!

While at Bear Lodge, you will enjoy 10-12 parking spots, a shared 3-foot-deep saltwater pool (non-heated, so open Memorial Day through Labor Day), and an incredible kitchen - fully-equipped with everything you need for meal prep and service. All you need to bring is food and someone to cook it! (Plus, some basics like plastic wrap and foil.)

The fire pit with a circle-swing (handcrafted by one of our CBM volunteers) is able to be reserved at no cost to you - we highly recommend it!

SPECIAL NOTES for accessing BEAR LODGE:
The driveway to Bear Lodge is steep and windy – from our check-in office, turn right onto the main road, and then make another right onto Bear Lodge Drive. From there to the main Elk Lodge Parking Lot, it is about 3 switchbacks (steep, windy curves). You will want to keep your foot on the gas! Once you make it to the Elk Lodge Parking Lot (where the pool is), you will have another 4 switchbacks to get up to your destination at Bear Lodge. Once you start the incline, keep your foot on the gas. Don’t worry – we do it every day! You do NOT need a 4WD vehicle to make it.

Vehicles larger than the size of a 15-passenger van will not easily make it up the driveway and around the corners. A large bus could park in our main parking lot by our office, but you will need to pre-arrange this with Guest Services when you book, to ensure that the space is saved for you.

Other Bear Lodge amenities:
-5 bedrooms, each with one Queen bed, 2 sets of bunks (one of the bedrooms has 3 sets of bunks), and its own PRIVATE bathroom.
-Free WIFI
-Private Game Room - pool table & carpetball table
-Meeting Space (same room as Game Room) with tables and chairs you can set up as you wish.
-Large private dining room with 3 extra-long, hand-crafted, farmhouse wood tables, seating 12 people at each table!
-Access off of living room to beautiful, private porch with the most beautiful view you’ve ever seen of the Smoky Mountains!
-Large, private living room with TV upstairs, and second living room area downstairs in the Game Room/Meeting Room with second TV.
-Hot tub on downstairs deck open year-round, prepared and heated for each arrival!
-All BED & BATH linens provided
-TWO beautiful stone, dual-sided, gas fireplaces (lit October-April), one upstairs and one downstairs
-Cornhole

Kitchen specifics:
-2 total sinks
-Large island for food prep
-2 dishwashers
-2 microwaves
-2 refrigerator/freezers
-2 stove/ovens
-Pots, pans, silverware, cooking-ware, bakeware, service ware, cups, mugs, pitchers, cookie sheets, cutting board, crockpot, and so much more!
-Bunn (industrial-style) coffee maker and pots (+ Keurig-style coffee maker)

Game/Meeting/Common Space specifics:
-Set up tables/chairs for meetings, crafts, chapel, or worship
-Many books on the bookshelves, including the Nancy Drew/Hardy Boys collection
-Full bathroom w/tub!
-Private Laundry room
-Deck with AMAZING views!

Privacy:
When we travel, we like to know what's shared and what's all ours!
-At Bear Lodge, everything is ALL YOURS except for the pool, which is shared with 5 of our other cabins. Outdoor spaces are also open to all.
-In the kitchen, you will find hard keys for every bedroom, if you desire to use them.

Nearby area:
-Tuckaleechee Caverns is 1/4 mile from us - a very cool outing open March-November annually)
-Davy Crockett Riding Stables is 1/2 mile from us - take guided horseback rides
-Rent ATVs and more right in Townsend (1 mile from us)
-DON'T MISS tubing the Little River in the summer (Memorial Day to Labor Day)! It's busy, but so worth it. There are several tube rental locations, and they are all for the same river.
-There are plenty of river access spots down 321 that you can access on your own, any time!
-Check out the swinging bridge, across from Century 21 on 321.
-We also have the sweetest covered bridge, and you can fish in the river underneath! (Fishing passes available in town.)
-Plenty of places to buy souvenirs and fudge!
-Don't miss Townsend River Walk & Arboretum!
-Little River Railroad/Lumber Museum is FREE!
-If you enjoy history, the Heritage Museum is very cool.
-We are a festival town! Everything from Hot Air balloons to Bigfoot to Scottish Games...be sure to ask what's in town when you're planning to come!

Not Townsend, but still close, and worth the drive:
-The Island in Pigeon Forge is FREE admission and is awesome! Park & ride the free shuttle and enjoy sitting in the rockers around the dancing fountains, children's rides, high ropes course, mirror maze, great restaurants, Ferris Wheel, and so much more (activities have a la carte fees).
-Cherokee is about 1.5-hour drive away. You're sure to see elk grazing in the fields, especially on overcast, smoky days.
-Foothills Parkway is a beautiful drive! Access is available either heading towards Pigeon Forge (off Wears Valley Road) or heading towards Maryville (off 321).

Be sure to EXPLORE!
-Cades Cove, the beautiful, historic 11-mile driving loop filled with wildlife, hiking trails, awesome photo ops, old homesteads, churches, and cemeteries, is only a 15–20-minute drive from us. Cades Cove is part of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. Parking passes are available once you arrive. Please note that on Wednesdays, Cades Cove is ONLY open to foot traffic and bicycles.
-We have so much hiking nearby, but there is a great hike that originates at the clay road right outside your door! Continue up nine switchbacks to the top of the mountain, and enjoy the panoramic views – GREAT photo op!
-Also check out Metcalf Bottoms for an awesome picnic area and river access.
-Elkmont, Laurel Falls, Sugarlands, Chimney Tops, and Alum Cave are about 30 minutes to an hour away as well.
-Kuwohi (formerly Clingmans Dome) is BEAUTIFUL, not only once you arrive and start hiking, but on the way there and back! Driving there takes about an hour.

Here on a Friday night?
Don't miss the local TN bluegrass culture at Rocky Branch Community Center, where locals get together and start pickin' at about 6:30pm and stop when they're done!

We LOVE our little town of Townsend, TN!
-Everything you need is on the main strip of 321/Lamar Alexander Parkway
-Our local grocer is IGA, located in the same plaza as Shell Gas Station
-Amoco has soft-serve ice cream, and great hot and cold lunch options you can purchase and enjoy eating on their deck overlooking Little River!
-Dollar General (of course we have one, are you a town if you don't?!) has all the rest of the basics.

Townsend restaurants we recommend:
-Peaceful Side Social is a favorite and has a play area for kids. Taco Truck there open seasonally. GREAT pizzas, bowls, half chicken, truffle fries, and sandwiches! They also have an attached Creamery, which is delicious.
-East Cuisine Cafe has awesome Asian food! Get your sushi fix or enjoy hibachi with a PITCHER of yum-yum sauce!
-Riverstone has good home-cooking.
-We love Apple Valley Cafe for breakfast and lunch, and there is shopping in the same plaza.
-We highly recommend TownsEnd for coffee, and there is also Dancing Bean, Artistic Bean, and others, all right in Townsend.

Other:
-Join hundreds of returning family reunions and groups, representing thousands of guests, who stay in Bear Lodge (and our other cabins!) every year!

-Schedule a tour before you book, if you'd like!

-Discounts for first time bookings for CHURCH AND NON-PROFIT ORGANIZATIONS ARE AVAILABLE!

-Ask about our discounts for pastors and full-time ministry workers.

-Our policies do not allow us to host wedding ceremonies on our property.

-Exemptions for minimum-night stays are available if only one night is open between other groups. Please inquire with us if you see this and would like to book it!

-Guest will be required to sign Tuckaleechee Retreat Center's rental agreement after the booking is confirmed, which includes the rules and policies for our property, including our no pets and no alcohol policy.

THANK YOU! We look forward to hosting your group here!