We can’t promise you spring this Saturday night, but we can promise you great accommodation, a fabulous prime-rib dinner,  a leisurely breakfast– all at a great discount. Because a group has booked both Thursday and Fridy nights, we have the rare situation of openings this Saturday night only.   Come out for the night and get accommodation and dinner at a 15% discount.   Book online, email info@buckhorninn.com, or telephone our fabulous Debbie on 865 436 4668.

April’s Music of the Mountains   Sounds of a banjo and fiddle playing in unison echo through the history of the Smoky mountains.  In April, you can experience the sweetness and liveliness of traditional mountain music and bluegrass at Buckhorn on Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday evenings from 5:30 to 7:00 pm. 

May—The Past Becomes Present  Local historians, naturalists and storytellers engage guests in conversations about the cultural, historical and environmental history of the Great Smoky Mountains and the present and future challenges that face this area.  Discussions will be between 5:30 and 7:00 pm on Sundays, Tuesdays and Thursdays in May. 

May 18  Happy Birthday, Buckhorn Inn!  This birthday dinner is inspired by the 1950s and ’60s when the outdoor patio and barbeque became a staple of American life.  Staff will dress in tee shirts and summer shorts, so please feel free to dress casually.   Still have a pair of peddlepushers?  A live band will play as you enjoy BBQ beef and pork, hamburgers, hotdogs, birthday cake and all the trimmings. Wine and beer will be available. $35 per person 

Buckhorn Memories Welcome  Guests are invited to write about  Buckhorn for a collection we plan to publish at the end of the year. Complete a Memory Card when you are a guest this year or you can send an email to buckhornmemories@buckhorninn.com.  We really want to hear from you!  Each month we will randomly select a memory from those submitted and award a prize—dinner for two.  At the end of the year, we will select a grand prize winner, awarding a complimentary two-night stay at Buckhorn.

Teller assumes a defensive stance to protect his mate Pentu during the mating season which begins around Valentine’s Day each year. The pair has yet to produce progeny, but this may be the year. Eggs are usually laid in late April or early May. The gestation period is about 30 days.

One of the best reasons to hike to winter waterfalls is because there’s more water flowing at that time of year. You get better views of the falls and better photos in winter because the trees have dropped their leaves. So, get your hiking boots on and try some of these treks when you are at Buckhorn in the next few months.

Hen Wallow Falls is 4.5 roundtrip. Take the Gabes Mountain Trail out of the Cosby Campground. Keep going and you will see some amazing old-growth forest.

Rainbow Falls is 5.5 miles roundtrip. The trailhead is located on the Cherokee Orchard Road at the back of Gatlinburg.

Laurel Falls is 2.5 miles roundtrip. It’s the only trail to a waterfall that is paved. The trailhead is on Little River Road 3.9 miles west of Sugarlands Visitor Center.

Hand me an apron and let’s cook! A day in the kitchen with Frank is an amazing experience. He is a talented chef and kind teacher. I told him I have never been much of a cook, but I was able to follow a recipe. He laughed and informed me that he does not use recipes. I knew I was in for a long night! We prepared a four-course meal together. The menu included: Grilled London Broil with Béarnaise Sauce, Mushroom and Wild Rice Soup, Garden Salad, and Orange Carrot Cake with Mascarpone Icing. Doesn’t that Orange Carrot Cake look good? Here is the recipe straight from the Buckhorn’s Best II:

Heat oven to 350 F.

1 Navel orange, unpeeled and quartered
2 Cups All-purpose flour
2 Cups Sugar
2 Tsp Baking powder
2 Tsp Baking soda
1 Tsp Salt
2 Tsp Ground cinnamon
2 Tsp Ground nutmeg
1 ¼ Cups Vegetable Oil
4 Eggs
2 Cups Grated carrot
½ Cup Chopped walnuts
½ Cup Raisins
Cream Cheese Icing (See below)

Position knife blade in food processor bowl; add quartered orange, and process until pureed, stopping once to scrape down sides. Set orange puree aside. Combine flour and next 6 ingredients in large bowl. Add orange puree, oil, and eggs; mix well. Stir in carrot, walnuts, and raisins. Pour batter into a greased and floured 10-inch tube pan.

Bake at 350 for 1 hour. Let cool completely in pan on a wire rack. Remove cake from pan. Frost top of cake with cream cheese icing. Cover and story in refrigerator.

Yield: 1 10-inch cake

Cream Cheese Icing

8 Oz Cream cheese, softened
½ Cup Butter, softened
2 Tbl Honey
½ Tsp Vanilla extract
Beat cream cheese and butter at medium speed in the bowl of an electric mixer until creamy. Add honey and vanilla, and beat until blended.

The “Stegeman Sisters” paid their annual visit to Buckhorn this year and made the trek up to Mt. Le Conte. Doubting Thomas Innkeeper John Mellor had to accept they had really made the trip when they came back in the late afternoon with Mt. Le Conte teeshirts. Great going, ladies!

I like to say I am a shadow to Innkeeper Lee Mellor. We have become good friends throughout my internship. She makes me lunch and drinks coffee with me in the afternoons. We have become so inseparable that I even go to her home office to work with her. Unfortunately, she only has one desk, but that’s okay because we have learned that a couple of TV dinner trays make a wonderful workspace. See…

I am working hard to plan the 75^th Anniversary of the Inn. We have some really exciting events planned for 2013. Keep looking back at the website for more information from me so you can celebrate with us!

We had a wonderful time at the Buckhorn Inn last week.  As always, the unbeatable combination of your gracious hospitality (you truly care about your guests and go to any reasonable length to please us without fail!), the comfortable, home-like accommodations (our home away from home), the tasty and imaginative breakfasts and dinners, the swans, the nature trail, and this year the perfect weather making the hiking trails a true pleasure all added up, once again, to the PERFECT VACATION away from the cares of the world, albeit never long enough for our world-weary souls. 

There has been a week of painting at Buckhorn Inn in the Smoky Mountains every year since the mid 1960’s when famed watercolorist Jim Gray gave classes. Ohio artist Ruth Firestone led a group of artists every year for more than 30 years. We believe, as Picasso once said, that “everyone is an artist.” Young or old, the art of creating is a joyous, exciting process. Amid the beauty of the Smokies, we try to provide the right environment for that process to blossom –relaxing accommodation, delicious food, the congenial company of fellow artists working at all levels.

After a hearty breakfast each morning, the day is yours to paint—a rushing river, a quiet woodland glade, asters covering a mountain meadow. In the evenings following dinner, join with fellow artists to discuss and critique the day’s work. On two evenings, local artists will drop in to talk about their approach to painting and discuss their work with you. Whether you’ve just picked up a paintbrush or you regularly show your work in fine galleries, this week devoted to painting can be exhilarating and fulfilling.

2013 Dates: Arrive Thursday, September 12, 2013

Depart Thursday, September 19, 2013

Rates: The seven-night rate includes accommodation, breakfast and dinner.

Accommodation Type        Rate for two    Rate for one

Traditional Room            $1050             $ 850

Premier Room/Cottage        $1225            $1000

Artist Contact: If you wish to talk to one of the artists who regularly attends the Painting Retreat, please contact us and we will put you in touch with someone who will share their experience with you.

Buckhorn Inn: Nestled in the shade of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, Buckhorn Inn exudes an ambiance of bygone days. This classic 1938 inn offers grand views of the mountains and the countryside surrounding Gatlinburg that calms the soul and slows the pace to that of another less hurried era.

Our 30-acre property is situated less than a mile from the Great Smoky Mountains National Park and just five miles from Gatlinburg. We are convenient to all area activities and attractions, including hiking, arts and crafts, musical theaters, the Pigeon Forge Outlets, Dollywood, the Folk Art Center, and much more.

Built in 1938 when this area was just beginning to develop its reputation as an artists’ colony and hideaway for tourists, Buckhorn was considered the best of all getaways to East Tennessee. Let us show you that same care and attention that guests have enjoyed over the last seven decades.