★ A step-free safari tent built for two, fully in the trees.
Safari is a canvas safari tent at Elk Hollow, in the Deep Creek area just outside the national park. Here’s what sets it apart from our other tents: there are no steps to the main level and a wide ramp to the deck, so it’s the easy-access one. It still sits on an elevated section that feels roosted in the treetops, you just don’t have to climb to get there.
This is glamping, not camping. The walls are canvas, but the comforts aren’t: a full kitchen, a spa-style bath, heat and AC, WiFi, and keyless entry. The decor is true African safari, bamboo walls, stone-gray canvas, charcoal and slate tones with rich red accents and lantern lighting. You’ll fall asleep to the woods through screened windows, or roll the canvas down for a dark, cozy room.
The bath is the slow-down room. A private hot tub on the deck looks into the mountains, and inside there’s a stand-alone soaking tub with a spacious walk-in rain shower. Soak under the stars, soak out of the weather, soak twice in a day.
🛋️ INSIDE
➝ Open, light living area with a leather armchair, loveseat, and Smart TV
➝ Bamboo-walled, lantern-lit interior with layered rugs and a playful turtle footrest
➝ French doors and wrap-around windows, with ceiling fans and a pitched roof
➝ Full kitchen: full-size fridge/freezer, gas range, oven, microwave, dishwasher, table for two
➝ Board games, WiFi, a dedicated workspace, heat + AC year-round, in-unit washer + dryer
🛏️ WHERE YOU’LL SLEEP
➝ King-size Amish Barnwood bed dressed in soft gray linens with rusty-red accents
➝ Stand-alone spa soaking tub
➝ Spacious walk-in rain shower and a large vanity, with a privacy curtain
★ Guests call the bed one of the most comfortable they’ve slept in
🌲 OUTSIDE
➝ Enormous wraparound platform deck, step-free with a wide ramp
➝ Hot tub with mountain views, open year-round
➝ Fire pit for s’mores under the stars (reached by a gravel path)
➝ Gas grill for dinner under the string lights
➝ Covered seating with a ceiling fan, so a wet evening still works
♥ WHO IT’S FOR
Couples. Anniversaries, honeymoons, a quiet reset, or a mother-daughter trip. Because it’s step-free, it’s also the right tent for older travelers or anyone who can’t do stairs, the treetop feel without the climb. Quiet and private, so it’s a getaway, not a party house.
🚗 GETTING HERE
A gravel road leads in; take it slow, especially on a street motorcycle, though most guests find it a non-issue. From parking, the main deck is step-free via a wide ramp, no stairs to the living level. The path to the fire pit is gravel. Five minutes from downtown Bryson City, with the Deep Creek entrance to the Smokies close by.
➳ GOOD TO KNOW
It’s a canvas safari tent, so you’ll hear the rain, the birds, and a bit more of the outdoors than a cabin. Moderately secluded: private, while still connected to the property. It’s glamping with a full kitchen, spa bath, and heat and AC, not roughing it. The main level is step-free, which makes this the easiest-access one-bedroom tent on the property.
