Discover the Town of Lake Lure
Lake Lure is a well-known destination for thousands of visitors each year from around this country, Canada, and abroad.
The Town of Lake Lure is a beautiful place to visit and a wonderful place to live; it is the home of over 1,365 permanent residents.
Located in western North Carolina, the town sits in the heart of Hickory Nut Gorge, east of Asheville. The Rocky Broad River winds its way through a series of rapids down through Hickory Nut Gorge, and the crystal clear water flows through the valley that feeds Lake Lure.
The Town of Lake Lure encompasses 13.25 square miles, including the lake with a large central body of deep water, three long bays, an island of seven acres, and many small bays and inlets with a background of forest-clad hills and mountains. The climate is unusually temperate as Lake Lure lies in the thermal belt of the western North Carolina mountains and foothills.
The lake is the number one attraction, and the reason so many families visit Lake Lure year after year. Visitors come to enjoy the 720 acres of lake, sparkling clean beach area, and the incredible Blue Ridge mountain range, including Chimney Rock. History records that the idea of a resort community in western North Carolina was the vision of Dr. Lucius B. Morse.
Soliciting the financial backing of his brothers, Dr. Morse purchased 400 acres around Chimney Rock in 1902 to create Chimney Rock Park. Additional acreage was acquired over the next several years to bring the total to 8,000 acres. Dr. Morse conceived the idea of building a dam on the Rocky Broad River to create a lake and a year-round resort. The dam was completed in September 1926, forming the lake, which was named Lake Lure by Dr. Morse’s wife, Elizabeth Parkinson. The Town of Lake Lure was incorporated in 1927.
The Town of Lake Lure is a great location for sports, including swimming, golfing, hiking, or serious rock climbing. You can enjoy a wide variety of water activities, ranging from canoeing and fishing to pleasure boating and water skiing. Both motor and non-motorized boats enjoy the lake; however, a lake permit is required to place a private boat on the lake.
Today, or soon, you will be a visitor to Lake Lure. Perhaps it will be your first time, or like many, Lake Lure is on your shortlist of places you visit with regularity. Either way, our residents are glad you’re here. Our history, our economy, and a great deal of our prosperity are sewn and strengthened by a steady flow of visitors to the place we call home.
We were visitors once too, so be careful. The “allure” of Lake Lure is strong, and many a visitor have made that life-changing decision to build a life – a new chapter – here in Lake Lure, building homes and lives here for ourselves and our families.
For now, enjoy your visit and make sure you come back!
The moment you arrive in Lake Lure, it is obvious you are surrounded by beauty, unsurpassed anywhere else in Western North Carolina. Here, the rivers, streams, and waterfalls converge into a perfectly sized 720-acre man-made lake. Hills and valleys gave way to boulders and cliffs, creating a multitude of awe-inspiring vistas at every turn. There simply is no regular view in Lake Lure.
One of the things that make Lake Lure a truly unique destination is that it responds to our collective desire to get away from it all, but not too far away. With a diverse list of things to do and places to visit, your stay can be as active or as relaxed as you wish.
The Community
Surrounded by thousands of acres of mixed hardwoods and dense forest, Lake Lure is located 25 miles southeast of Asheville and about an hour and a half north of Greenville, SC.
The community has two outstanding golf courses, Apple Valley and Bald Mountain, both are privately owned by Rumbling Bald on Lake Lure. Rumbling Bald on Lake Lure is replete with championship golf, hiking trails, fishing, water sports, beach, and dining.
Wherever you set your sets, while you’re here, you will find quaint little towns, major metropolitan cities, or more our mountaintop splendor. If you want to golf, it’s right here. Suppose you want snow skiing. It's less than two hours from your doorstep. In addition to our own local offerings, the arts, shopping, theatre, concerts, and outdoor cafes are as close as a 35-minute drive and far enough away that Lake Lure remains the ideal “full-circle” base for your vacation.
