The Great Carolina Outdoors

The Great Carolina Outdoors Hike, bike and adventure at these three resorts in the new year.

By Christiana Roussel | Photos Contributed

Once the holidays are in our collective rearview mirror, most of us look at the new year as a fresh start—a time to refresh, set new goals, and embrace new habits.

We vow to eat better, exercise more and maybe indulge a little less. With those goals in mind, why not ease into things with a vacation geared to healthier habits? After all, there’s no rule saying that these mindful changes have to be monastic or arduous or even not fun. With a vacation to any one of these resorts, you might just fall in love with being the healthiest version of yourself.

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choose-your-own

Lowcountry Adventure Palmetto Bluff | Bluffton, South Carolina Situated on the bucolic South Carolina coast, Palmetto Bluff is a destination that combines worldclass hospitality with impeccable cuisine, set against a backdrop of Spanish moss-laden trees, sandy walkways and plough mud teeming with activity. Guests at the resort can choose to stay at the signature Montage Resort on property or at one of the private homes available. No matter where you lay your head at night, you’ll be ensconced in comfort and graceful hospitality, ensuring you’re plenty rested for days filled with outdoor adventure.

Getting There Hopping a flight to Savannah is the fastest way to get to the Lowcountry, but there are plenty of guests who opt to drive. From the airport, it is a quick car ride to the resort.

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What To Do Honestly, there are not enough hours in the day to explore everything Palmetto Bluff has to offer, but we suggest you try. Start by picking up complimentary bicycles and Bike the Bluff—a 6-7-mile ride through Palmetto Bluff’s 20,000 acres including historic architecture, wildlife and views of the May River—just to get the lay of the land. From there, you may decide to hike, shoot sporting clays, swim, play tennis, paddleboard, fish, canoe, ride horses, play golf or go boating.

Or maybe this is the vacation where you try something totally new—pickleball. As the fastest growing sport in the world, there are pickleball courts popping up in cities from coast to coast. Easy for beginners to learn, fast-paced and fun, the pickleball “addiction” is being embraced across generations. Six pickleball courts at Palmetto Bluff’s Wilson Lawn and Racquet Club make this the ideal spot to give it a go.

Where To Eat All of that exertion is bound to spark a strong appetite.

On property, there are numerous dining options, from casual to white tablecloth, to satiate yourself. The town of Bluffton certainly merits a visit if you are in the area, and dining at FARM might be the best reason of all. Chef Brandon Carter uses fresh blue crab, hand-picked by local Gullah women at the nearby Bluffton Oyster Company, in his blue crab rice dish (pictured on right). Anson Mills rice provides the base for this dish while sofrito and fried shallots round out its savoriness.

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Hiking Among the Smokies

The Swag | Waynesville, North Carolina Named for the space between two mountains, The Swag resort’s 250-acres nestle up against the Great Smoky Mountains in westernmost North Carolina, making it the perfect getaway for hikers and families who enjoy intergenerational active travel. This mountaintop idyll began as a private getaway for Deener and Dan Matthews, a couple who enjoyed hosting friends from nearby Knoxville. In 2018, The Swag was purchased by Annie and David Colquitt, who had honeymooned at The Swag and fallen in love with the destination. The Colquitts’ adoration is apparent in the very thoughtful updates they’ve added since taking the helm—a cozy spa, more lawn games, outdoor patio dining and an experts-in-residence program.

Getting There The journey to The Swag is almost as lovely as the destination itself. From Birmingham, you can either go through Atlanta and head north, or skip that inevitable traffic and go through Chattanooga and Knoxville, a far prettier and less snarled drive for sure. Make sure you savor the final part of the journey up The Swag’s driveway. It is fun to watch the thermometer on your car drop several degrees as you traverse the switchbacks to reach the resort. The resort operates mid-April to Thanksgiving.

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What To Do At the core of The Swag is rest. For some, this looks like solo hikes out to beloved knobs with epic views.

For others, it means stashing the cell phone and laptop for days on end, reconnecting with family and making new friends in fellow travelers. Badminton, croquet, horseback riding and plenty of swanky Stave puzzles round out the offerings which only serve to switch off the digital brain, resetting your mental bandwidth. Picnics are happily packed for those wishing to be off exploring for the day, and the only traffic jam you’ll find is at the multitude of hummingbird feeders that dot the expansive porch.

Another popular activity at The Swag are naturally intimate weddings held out on Gooseberry Knob. Some weddings have even been so small as to necessitate the asking of the innkeeper to serve as witness to the union. Full buyouts of the resort for a wedding, anniversary or family reunion can make any occasion that much more private and special.

Where To Eat The Swag is truly a destination away from it all and as an all-inclusive resort your stay includes all meals, which can be enjoyed family style with other guests (a fantastic way to make new friends) or at private tables. “Social Hour” precedes dinner each evening, allowing guests to mingle in a treasured and convivial setting, sharing stories of the day and settling into a relaxed evening.

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Cycling Through Europe

(or so it feels)

Hotel Domestique | Traveler’s Rest, South Carolina Named for the racing position professional cyclist George Hincapie held in his Tour de France career, the Hotel Domestique provides an elevated biking experience in a bucolic mountain setting. Located just outside Greenville, South Carolina, the resort has the look and feel of something straight out of the Italian countryside. Tall slender cypress trees line the terrace of the barrel-tiled roof with stucco-façade. The muted palette of the décor is punctuated by a punchy orange which feels richly Mediterranean.

Getting There From Birmingham, take I-20 East to Atlanta and then go north on I-85 toward Greenville. Travelers Rest is located about 30 minutes east of downtown Greenville.

What To Do The main draw for Hotel Domestique is, quite simply, biking. The surrounding area is replete with enough hills and straightaways to engage riders of all skill levels. The Swamp Rabbit Trail in nearby downtown Travelers Rest is a popular trail and easy to navigate. Avid cyclists often arrive with their own bikes, but the hotel has a small fleet to accommodate riders as well. High-end road bikes, gravel bikes, mountain bikes and e-bikes are all available to rent for the day. The front desk has a thick binder, full of area rides, broken down by distance. You may also access local rides online at ridewithgps. com. Guests looking for a local guide should reach out to Justin Creech of Blue Ridge Bike Tours at 864-448-4184.

Aside from two-wheeled challenges, Hotel Domestique boasts a serene pool and jacuzzi, perfect for recovering from a ride or just enjoying some much-needed downtime.

The fountained terrace and adjacent firepit make ideal settings for an afternoon glass of wine or nightcap. Guest rooms are well-appointed and each comes with a Hypervolt percussion massager, to really get the kinks out after a long bike—or car—ride.

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Where to Eat Restaurant 17 (so named for the number of times George Hincapie competed in the Tour de France) is the hotel’s on-site restaurant where Chef Haydn Shaak’s seasonal menu is as inspired as it is wow-inducing. Guests looking to dine off-site should head to Camp in downtown Greenville, where Chef Drew Erickson is stunning diners with his world-class cuisine that employs techniques garnered working with Chef Thomas Keller in Yountville, California’s, famous French Laundry. Come hungry and adventurous.

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Meet Your Travel Guide Proud to call Birmingham home, Christiana Roussel loves discovering every corner of the Magic City. But the road beckons often. She’s been known to make a wrong turn into the right choice, dig in with the locals and try to talk her way out of a speeding ticket or two. Curiosity drives her and finding connection is her passion.