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This year, I’ve been trying to spice up the more than 100 nights a year I spend on the road by finding the most unique accommodations possible. Just a month after sleeping in a wine barrel outside Rockford, Illinois, I arrived at Asheville Regional Airport on one of the few daily direct flights from LaGuardia Airport. While most of my travel writer friends have been to Asheville, I have not. My destination was neighboring Haywood County in the Smoky Mountains of Western North Carolina. And I was heading there to stay in a 1950s-themed caboose.
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Why Haywood County is North Carolina’s best-kept mountain secret
Bordering East Tennessee, Haywood County has fewer residents than the city of Asheville or any single NYC zip code I’ve stayed in. The 30-mile drive along Interstates 26 and 40 to Clyde (population 1,368) feels like a drive in any mountainous part of the South. But when you exit, you’ll see speed limits as low as five miles per hour along windy roads, where common sense dictates that you put your cell phone down and watch the roads. The fact that one bar can feel like a luxury the farther you get from main roads reinforces that idea. You’ll notice the rural street names, such as Love Joy, Rabbit Skin, Handsome, and Safe Haven. In fact, over the course of three days in Haywood County, I saw multiple Spiral Curve road signs, which I can’t recall seeing before.
The surprising story behind this vintage train caboose hotel
In 1994, Harold, a retired UPS driver and avid train enthusiast from Long Island, moved to Haywood County, buying 18 acres of hilly land across from the winding Pigeon River. His family bought the adjacent 47 acres in 2004. They started with rustic cabins largely built by the family, and welcomed their first guests in July 2007. There are now five of those, while the first caboose opened for guests in April 2016.
To put it mildly, getting long out-of-commission cabooses from neighboring states to a rural farm at an elevation of 2,700’ is much more difficult than building a cabin. I stayed in the Mo-Pac caboose, the smallest, but with the largest shower. I’d gladly give up kitchen space to not have my elbows banging against the shower doors while trying to wash my hair. After all, the large deck with a bison ranch view more than made up for it.
Harold’s daughter, Cheryl, gave me a property tour and informed the train enthusiast in me that my caboose came from Ohio in two shipments (chassis and caboose) and had to be dropped in by a crane before being reassembled on salvaged track reclaimed from nearby. For good measure, they then welded the wheels in place for a little added security. The most awe-inspiring tale for me was when Cheryl mentioned that the first driver dropped the caboose three miles down the road at a gas station and left it there after seeing what he would be up against. It took her another three months to find another driver, with the first guests staying on July 4, 2024.
Step inside a 1950s train caboose with a retro diner twist
The two small steps from the deck into the caboose felt like a time-machine trip back to the days of bell-bottoms and ten-cent bottles of Coca-Cola. Except for the ductless mini-split unit above the bed, nothing jumped out at me as post-MTV-era. The first thing I said to myself after putting my backpack down was, “It looks like the guys from Cheap Trick designed the floors, and Sammy Hagar asked to have as many red appliances and furniture as possible.” With that in mind, I started the next three mornings (my morning routine always starts with loud rock music) by turning on my mini Bluetooth speaker and playing different Cheap Trick (known for Rick Nielsen’s black-and-white checkerboard guitars) records, including All Shook Up and In Another World, with the latter being the most appropriate for someone who has never even lived in an unattached house.
The bed was comfortable enough, the shower large enough, and the kitchen had all the basics except a dishwasher. Those are only available in the cabins. But as the kitchen sink has a bison view, washing dishes did not seem like such a chore. My favorite little addition was the observation deck with a jukebox-shaped cassette player. Climbing up there to watch the bison run reminded me of climbing up to the top bunk bed as a child.
Bison views, model trains and more: what to do at the ranch
Most guests spend their afternoons exploring the nearby cities and towns of Waynesville, Canton, and Maggie Valley. Daily activities like donkey excursions and bison feeding wrap up by late morning. I did the latter, where I was lifted onto an enclosed box and dropped buckets of feed into a trough while at least a dozen of the roughly 50 bison on the ranch lowered their heads to devour grain with a few green apples mixed in.
But my personal favorite experience by far was exploring Harold’s model train collection, which felt like a trip around America above the BC Depot, where the game room and gift shop are located. As a native Long Islander, Harold has LIRR model trains with a mini 81st St. Museum of Natural History subway station behind.
Where to eat and explore near Great Smoky Mountains National Park
My one regret about my stay was not trying any of the ranch’s bison meat for sale in the gift shop, which you can grill outside your caboose or cabin. Instead, I visited a different city, town, or attraction each day. I day-tripped to Great Smoky Mountains National Park and rode the scenic Blue Ridge Parkway to Devil’s Courthouse, which I hiked up to, reaching the 5,720’ peak. On a clear day, you can see three of the four states that border North Carolina.
I think of Carolina BBQ as a must-try when in the Tar Heel State, so I had lunch at Mack’s Shack in Downtown Canton just east of the Pigeon River, which also runs across from Buffalo Creek Vacations. No complaints about the tender chicken or perfectly seasoned brisket, but I learned that in Haywood County, rainbow trout is just as beloved as smoked meat. The day after, I toured Sunburst Trout Farms. After the sampling, I had to try it in a restaurant and ended up settling on Switchback at Cataloochee Ranch, elevation 4,900’, compared to Buffalo Creek Vacations’ 2,700’. A visit to The Ten Acre Garden’s pizza trailer, where they make wood-fired pies in an oven topping out at 800 degrees, rounded out my list of top three culinary experiences in Haywood County.
How to plan and book a unique caboose stay in North Carolina
You can book the Mo-Pac and other cabooses on the Buffalo Creek Vacations website. While there is a general store with a free laundry room, you should bring your own bug spray if you’re planning to do any hiking, one of Haywood County’s main attractions. While you can get an Uber from Asheville Regional Airport, don’t count on getting one back. You’ll need a car, as public transit is limited and the property is ten minutes from I-40.