**PUBLIC OPEN HOUSE 8/8 ** Set at the end of a ridge-top road on 8.72 private acres, this stunning log home offers sweeping mountain views of the gorge and valley below, including waterfrontage on the beginnings of Fontana Lake, river frontage, and community boat/dock access, all inside a national park and national forest county.

The living room is anchored by a massive stone fireplace, completely rebuilt in 2021 with uniform ledge stone carried across the adjoining walls, a $75,000 project. Vaulted ceilings, hardwood and ceramic tile floors, and an open floor plan connect the kitchen, dining, and living areas. A sunroom off the main level takes in the light and the view. Main level living is fully workable here, with two bedrooms, each with private access to the covered porch, plus a breakfast bar, pantry, and laundry all on the main floor.

Three bedrooms and three full baths spread across a plan built for company. The loft overlooks the living area. The full finished basement adds a rec and game room, a full bath, exercise and theatre space, a wine nook, and generous storage, with both interior and exterior entry.

The current owners invested more than $117,000 in systems since 2021, which is the part of a mountain home most buyers never get to see. The heating and air conditioning system was completely replaced in May 2021 at a cost of $19,000, including a third zone added for the loft, and carries a Trane 10 year warranty the seller describes as transferable. A whole home Generac generator was installed in March 2021 at $9,600 and is under an annual service contract. French drains were installed around the foundation in 2022 at $6,400. The conventional water heater was replaced with two on demand propane units, and the well system received a DAB pump with two 250 gallon storage tanks. Every outlet and wall switch was replaced with Leviton components and a whole home surge suppressor was added. Additional upgrades include remote propane tank monitoring and electrical service down the driveway for the entrance light and a well head heater to guard against winter freeze.

The furnishings are exceptional and negotiable under a separate agreement, selected room by room over years rather than bought as a package. Also available is a collection of 11 original oil paintings by Western North Carolina artist John Holland Houglum, displayed throughout the home. A buyer has the rare option to step into a finished, furnished mountain home rather than start with empty rooms. Nothing conveys unless agreed in writing.

Outside, the porches and decks take in the mountains and the quiet. A newly added greenhouse has its own 30 amp service. The home is on well water and septic with a metal roof. Association dues are only $350 annually.

Bryson City sits minutes away, a true gateway town to Great Smoky Mountains National Park, with the Great Smoky Mountains Railroad downtown, Deep Creek waterfalls and tubing just north, the Nantahala Gorge and its whitewater to the west, and Tsali's nationally known mountain bike trails on the Fontana peninsula. The fishing here is exceptional, between the Tuckasegee, the Nantahala, the park's backcountry streams, and Fontana Lake itself.

Homes of this size, on this much private acreage, with water frontage and this level of mechanical investment, do not come along often in Swain County. Schedule your private showing.