Rachel WavraSilver Creek Real Estate Group
Rachel WavraSilver Creek Real Estate Group
The Highlands-Cashiers Plateau may not cover a huge distance on a map, but there are a surprising number of ways to live here.
Highlands and Cashiers are the names most people know first. But there's also Scaly Mountain, Sapphire, Glenville and Lake Glenville, Lake Toxaway, private club communities, lake communities, in-town neighborhoods, and plenty of places tucked somewhere in between. This is where I'll help you make sense of it all.
This is the same Plateau map we hand out in the office — every neighborhood, club, and community we work in, marked. Click it to zoom in and look around.
One of the first things I explain to buyers is that distance doesn't tell the whole story here.
A few miles can change your elevation, view, road, proximity to town, club options, weather, and overall experience of owning a home.
That's why I don't think the best way to search the Plateau is simply drawing a circle around Highlands or Cashiers.
Start with how you want to live here. We'll work backward from there.
Tell Me What You're Looking For →
For buyers who want restaurants, shopping, events, and the energy of town to be part of their mountain life, with everything from walkable neighborhoods to private clubs and tucked-away mountain retreats.
Explore Highlands →
A more spread-out mountain experience surrounded by some of the Plateau's best-known private club communities, outdoor recreation, and easy access to Glenville and Sapphire.
Explore Cashiers →
Just southwest of Highlands, Scaly Mountain appeals to buyers looking for a little more breathing room, mountain views, acreage, and a quieter version of life on the Plateau.
Explore Scaly Mountain →
Sapphire covers a surprisingly broad area, with club and amenity communities, mountain neighborhoods, lakes, waterfalls, and plenty of outdoor recreation.
Explore Sapphire →
For buyers whose mountain summers should include a boat. Lake Glenville offers waterfront, lake-view, and lake-access living, while the surrounding area gives you even more ways to spread out. Some addresses here carry a Cullowhee, not Glenville, mailing address.
Explore Glenville →
Lake Toxaway offers a more self-contained lake lifestyle, combining waterfront living, recreation, and an established private club community.
Explore Lake Toxaway →“Rachel showed us property in and around High Hampton and Cashiers. We met her on several occasions over a long weekend on vacation. I really appreciated her responsiveness to our tight schedule. My wife and I were also happy with her perspective and knowledge of the area.”Brian Henry
Maybe you want to walk to dinner. Maybe golf is non-negotiable. Maybe you need a dock. Maybe you'd trade all of that for ten quiet acres and a porch with a view. Tell me how you picture spending your time here, and I'll point you toward the communities I'd start exploring.
Tell Me What You're Looking For →There's more to choosing a second home than choosing the house. Where do you hike? Where do you put the boat in? Which town has what you need? Where can the kids swim? What do people actually do here when it rains?
Silver Creek's Plateau Guide was created as a resource for life on the Highlands-Cashiers Plateau, bringing the communities, recreation, lakes, golf, outdoor adventures, local resources, and everyday essentials together in one place. Flip through the current digital edition below.
That's where I come in.
The Plateau Guide can tell you where to hike, play golf, launch a boat, find a waterfall, or spend an afternoon. But if you're thinking about owning a home here, you'll eventually start asking different questions.
Highlands or Cashiers?
Do we want to join a private club?
How much harder is it to own a lake house?
What should we know about buying a home with a well or septic system?
Is that driveway going to be a problem?
Who's going to look after the house when we're not here?
Is the view protected?
Should we renovate or wait for something turnkey?
Those are the questions I want to answer here.
Community comparisons, private clubs, lake living, walkability, acreage, views, and figuring out which part of the mountains actually fits the life you want.
Explore Where to Live (Coming Soon)Due diligence, inspections, surveys, septic systems, wells, roads, driveways, views, renovations, furnished homes, and the details that aren't always obvious in the listing.
Explore Buying Advice →Maintaining a second home from somewhere else, finding reliable local help, preparing for winter, renovations, property management, and making ownership easier once the keys are yours.
Explore Second-Home Ownership →Pricing, preparation, positioning, marketing, improvements, timing, negotiations, and understanding what makes one Plateau property perform differently from another.
Explore Seller Insights →
Two towns separated by a short drive and a surprisingly long list of differences.
Read the Guide →
The things that don't always make it into the listing description, but can make a very big difference after closing.
Read the Guide →
Golf is only the beginning. Location, amenities, family programming, membership, and the personality of the community all matter.
Read the Guide →
One of my favorite things about the Plateau is that there's always another road, restaurant, trail, view, community, or little pocket of the mountains to discover.
I live here. I work here. I'm raising my family here. And I spend a lot of my time helping people who started out exactly where I did, loving this place enough that eventually they wanted a piece of it for themselves.
The Plateau Guide is my place to share what I've learned, both as someone who calls these mountains home and as a real estate broker who spends a lot of time thinking about what makes owning here different.
Hopefully it makes figuring out your place here a little easier.
About RachelFor beautiful homes, local people, restaurants, design, culture, events, and the stories that make the Highlands-Cashiers Plateau what it is, head over to NC Living. Want the magazine sent to your door? Send me your mailing address through the contact form and I'll get you added to the list.
Explore NC Living →You might know exactly what you're looking for. Or you might know you want cooler summers, a porch, and somewhere the whole family actually wants to visit. Either is a perfectly good place to start. Tell me what you're picturing. We'll figure out the rest together.
Let's Find Your Place on the Plateau