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The Retreat

One-bedroom cabins for a Mountain Market weekend

Craft vendor tents set up on the grass at Hannah Pickett Park in Monteagle, Tennessee, on a summer morning

Three of our one-bedroom cabins in Monteagle are the ones to compare for a Mountain Market weekend: Cozy Cottage at The Retreat at Deer Lick Falls, Hickory Hideaway at The Retreat at Deer Lick, and Ryan's Rocky Top at The Retreat at Sunset Bluff. They sit in two different communities, they're built around different evenings, and only one of them has a sauna. Which you want depends less on the market itself, which runs Saturday and Sunday mornings into the afternoon at Hannah Pickett Park behind City Hall, and more on what you intend to do with the rest of the weekend.

The market is a two-session event. Saturday runs nine to five, Sunday nine to four. That leaves a long Saturday evening and a whole Sunday afternoon unaccounted for, which is the part most people underplan. A cabin with a fire pit, a sauna or a hot tub earns its keep in those hours more than it does during the market.

Cozy Cottage, if you want the waterfall out the back door

Cozy Cottage sits in the woods at Deer Lick Falls with a bed swing on the porch and a hidden trail running from near the deck down toward one of the tallest waterfalls in Tennessee, a path that's effectively private to guests of this cabin. That's the whole argument for it. You can be at the market by nine, home by two with whatever pottery or jam you've bought, and walking down to water by three without getting back in the car.

Inside it's one bedroom with a full kitchen and a fireplace, sleeping up to six across three beds, so a couple has room and a pair of couples can split it. It's the most reviewed of the three by a distance, with the rating holding just under ten across three dozen guest reviews. The patio faces into trees with mountain view beyond, and there's an ice maker, which matters more in late July than it sounds.

Ryan's Rocky Top, if the weekend is really about unwinding

Ryan's Rocky Top is a tiny home on top of Sunset Bluff with a sauna and an oversized swim spa, and it caps at four guests. For two people who want a market Saturday and then nothing at all, this is a different kind of weekend from the other two. Coffee on a long deck under the forest canopy in the morning, soak at night, Adirondack chairs around the fire pit in between. Note the grill is charcoal, and firewood isn't included, though you can bring your own or buy a bundle from us.

It's the smallest capacity of the three and the one most clearly built for a couple or a solo traveller doing a reset. Every guest who has reviewed it has given it full marks, on a small number of reviews so far.

Hickory Hideaway and Among the Laurels, if you want the lake in the picture

Hickory Hideaway is a tiny house among pines with a fireplace, a fully equipped kitchen and kayaks, plus a loft and bunk beds alongside the private bedroom, sleeping up to six. It works for a couple who want the option of bringing friends, and for anyone who'd rather spend Sunday on water than on a trail.

Among the Laurels at Deer Lick is the one with a look you'll remember: the owner calls it "Not Your Granny's Vintage", which means stained glass catching the morning sun, soft quilts on the queen in the master, and a style that reads as collected rather than decorated. It has a lake view, an electric fireplace, a fire pit outside with fireside blankets kept in the master closet, an outdoor shower, and an on-site canoe you can load up and take to the lake at Water's Edge. The loft sleeps two more on a king and a single. It's listed as a one-bedroom sleeping five, and it's the one I'd send someone to who is as interested in the cabin as in the mountain.

A quick comparison

  • Cozy Cottage (Deer Lick Falls): one bedroom, sleeps six, bed swing, fireplace, patio, mountain view, near-private trail to the waterfall.
  • Among the Laurels (Deer Lick): one bedroom, sleeps five, lake view, fire pit and fireplace, spices in the kitchen, outdoor shower, canoe on site.
  • Ryan's Rocky Top (Sunset Bluff): one bedroom, sleeps four, sauna, hot tub, fire pit, dishwasher, charcoal grill, expansive deck.
  • Hickory Hideaway (Deer Lick): one bedroom, sleeps six, fireplace, kayaks, loft and bunks.

All four are cabins rather than rooms, all have a proper kitchen, laundry and free parking, and all are in Monteagle rather than a neighbouring town. The differences that actually decide things are the sauna at Rocky Top, the trail at Cozy Cottage, the boats at Hickory Hideaway and Among the Laurels, and how many people are coming.

What a one-bedroom here actually means

Read the sleeping numbers carefully, because "one bedroom" in this portfolio rarely means "sleeps two". These are tiny homes and small cabins built with lofts and bunks, so Cozy Cottage and Hickory Hideaway each sleep six, Among the Laurels sleeps five, and Ryan's Rocky Top sleeps four. If you're two people, you'll have a lot of room. If you're four adults, a one-bedroom is still genuinely workable, though you'll be sharing a bathroom and someone's climbing a ladder.

If that sounds tight, a couple of two-bedrooms sit in the same communities. The Great Escape at Sunset Bluff has a dedicated workspace, a den with a record player, a fenced yard and a firepit, and it's the only one of this group that takes dogs, with approval from guest services and a fee. Wild Woodside Retreat is on a private lot at Sunset Bluff with a dining table and a bathtub. Neither is a one-bedroom, so I'm flagging them as the sideways move rather than the answer.

What to do with Saturday evening and Sunday afternoon

Hannah Pickett Park is on Dixie Lee Avenue in the middle of Monteagle, and the useful thing about staying here rather than driving in from Chattanooga or Nashville is how much you can reach between market sessions. Mountain Goat Market is on West Main Street in town. The South Cumberland State Park visitor centre sits on US 41 in Monteagle itself, which makes it an easy stop on the way back from the park.

For hiking, the Grundy Forest trailhead for the Fiery Gizzard is about ten minutes east in Tracy City, and the day loop there runs two miles past Blue Hole Falls, Hanes Hole Falls, the Cave Spring Rockhouse and the Black Canyon, which is a lot of waterfall for a short walk. Foster Falls is roughly twenty minutes out. Stone Door and Savage Gulf are about twenty-five. The Caverns, over at Pelham, is a bit over ten minutes. Sewanee is ten or eleven minutes down the road, close enough that an early dinner there and back doesn't eat the evening.

Blue Hole Falls on the Grundy Forest Day Loop near Tracy City, Tennessee, in summer with low water over the ledge

Plan the hike for Saturday morning before the market opens or Sunday after it closes. Market Saturday plus Fiery Gizzard plus a long drive is more day than most people want in July heat.

Before you book

Dates first. The market weekend is the busiest thing on Monteagle's summer calendar, and one-bedrooms in a portfolio this size get taken early, so check your nights against the live calendar rather than assuming. Two things are worth confirming directly with us or on the listing page before you commit:

  • Your real headcount. If a fourth person is a maybe, say so now. It changes which cabin suits.
  • Firewood and grills. Firewood isn't included at Ryan's Rocky Top or The Great Escape; bring your own or buy a bundle from us. The grill at Rocky Top is charcoal.

If you'd rather not sift through listings, tell us your nights, how many of you there are, and whether the weekend is about trails or about sitting still. That narrows it to one cabin faster than any filter will.

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