View Full Version : Hike Inn - Fontanna
Former Admin
10-08-2002, 21:53
Comments, experiences, opinions, good or bad related to the Hike Inn.
ez-does-it
10-09-2002, 10:41
:)
The Hike Inn:
I can't say enouch about Nancy and Jeff Hoch they are one of the best stops on the trail.Jeff and Nancy go way out their way to help the hikers.If you get picked up early in the morning,Jeff will take you in to town for lunch and then you will also be driven into town for dinner and resupply.When you first get to the Hike Inn Jeff and Nancy show you your room and tell you to bring over your laundry and Nancy does the laundry for you.The rate of $40.00 includes all of the above and also the pick up and drop off at the Dam. You can't beat that. As you can tell it is one of my favorite places to stop when thru-hiking.In closing you won't go wrong stopping over at the Hike Inn.:)
Uncle Wayne
10-14-2002, 08:20
Highly recommend the good folks at The Hike Inn. Jeff and Nancy Hoch are very nice people and go out of their way to help any hiker. Can't beat their rates for lodging or shuttle service. They also supplied us with some good advice about dealing with bears. Jeff said he and other had tried it and know it works. In Georgia, North Carolina and Tennessee (outside the park) during season the bears are hunted with dogs. He advised if you come on a bear that doesn't run away to bark like a hunting dog. He said he had field proven the method himself. We never had a chance to try it but it makes sense that it would work.
DRRouner
01-01-2003, 22:56
I've stayed at the Hike Inn on three different occasions and I've always had a great time. The owners are great people and the prices are very resonable. I can honestly say I've never heard a hiker who had a bad experience there.
Jack Tarlin
01-02-2003, 15:17
The above posts are right on the money; this is a great place run by great folks.
I stayed at the then named "Fontana Motel" in 1999, Great time! I had a room to myself, the shuttle to my start point was great (Jeff really seemed to know the area) & Nancy came to fetch me at the dam when I called.
I hope they don't retire before I get to thru, I would love to stay with them again!
Doctari.
The above posts are right on the money; this is a great place run by great folks.
The hike Inn is a great place run by some great folks. Don't miss a stop....
Footslogger
12-11-2003, 13:38
Ditto to everything already said about the place and the people. Wanted to add that they will come and pick you up in the parking are near the shower house at NC 28. There was (at least this year) a phone near the bulletin board in the parking lot. Nancy was there no more than 10 minutes after I called. Rooms are simple but reasonable. They have some re-supply on hand and will also shuttle you into the town of Robbinsville. Nancy gave Jersey and I a tour of Robbinsville by car (took all of 5 minutes) and then dropped us off. We arranged a pick-up place and time. Had the opportunity to hit the library for a little internet access and get a great meal before our pick-up and return to the Hike Inn. Nancy also dropped us back at the trail crossing (NC 28) the next morning.
Big Dawg
03-10-2004, 22:45
Agree with all above!! This couple is top notch!! They run a great place. I look forward to staying with them again!!
:clap
twilight
03-10-2004, 23:27
I also will give Jeff and Nancy a thumbs up, too!!! :D They are great people and they help greatly with my section hike to Springer!!! I plan on using them again when I get back to that area for another section hike!
Twilight :jump
steve hiker
03-10-2004, 23:52
I also will give Jeff and Nancy a thumbs up, too!!! :D
Make that two thumbs up. Was just there a couple weeks ago for a mini-section hike and they were excellent. Shuttled me to Newfound Gap first thing in the morning and came and got me from the dam when I was through, in minutes. They both love the mountains and the hiking community and it shows.
MedicineMan
03-11-2004, 01:18
Nancy and Jeff are good folk, the Inn-well actually its construction tends toward a cool environ, so if you are there in the winter months bring along an electric blanket....we did the Stecoah Bald section based out of The Hike Inn and were cold, next time when we did the stretch to Fontana we knew better and brought the electric blanket and a down comforter...
Brushy Sage
03-11-2004, 11:22
Jeff and Nancy have become a recognized and appreciated part of the civic community in the Fontana area. They are "solid citizens." That has contributed to the acceptance of hikers by local folks.
jersey joe
03-11-2004, 11:48
I did not stay at the Hike Inn but it sounds like a great place. I would say that a negative of staying there is that you don't get to stay at the "Fontana Dam Hilton" shelter which was one of the nicest shelters on the trail. From the shelter there is a great view of the reservoir and the looming Smokie Mountains. The shelter has running water and the dam has showers, bathrooms and a payphone...plus it's free!
I have stayed here a couple times with excellent results. He is quite an amateur anthropologist and has a veritable museum of Indian artifacts in the main store. Well worth a visit. Coming up from the south, he has a little cheat bypass sign if you want to take a shortcut to his place (emergency only of course). ;)
I did not stay at the Hike Inn but it sounds like a great place. I would say that a negative of staying there is that you don't get to stay at the "Fontana Dam Hilton" shelter which was one of the nicest shelters on the trail. From the shelter there is a great view of the reservoir and the looming Smokie Mountains. The shelter has running water and the dam has showers, bathrooms and a payphone...plus it's free!
You can do both! I stayed at the village motel which sucked the first night and then took a zero at the hike inn/robbinsville which was sweet.
You can have your cake and eat it too. When I come back i'll most likely spend a night at the hike inn, get groceries and then walk the 1+ mile to the dam, spending the rest of the day and night at the hilton with some extra food to snack on. Then you can get a real early start up shuckstack
Agree with all the great comments. Also, check out Nancy's homemade salsa--in varieties from mild to wild. They used to sell it by mail order. Gotta get me some.
Big Dawg
03-11-2004, 18:57
Yummmmm, the homemade salsa is great!! :clap
Frolicking Dinosaurs
08-30-2005, 09:02
Spent two days at the Inn as a section hiker. Ditto to what others say above.
We had a very clean private room with a comfortable double bed and a kitchenette. It had a window air conditioner mounted in the wall and a ceiling fan. The bathtub is the old style (long and wide) - the kind you can actually get in and soak (important for sore dinosaur carasses). The medicine cabinet in the bathroom had everything a hiker could want from meds for itchy rashes to toothpaste to shaving cream / razors.
The owners are committed to making your hike - however you are doing it - a success. Jeff & Nancy are a wealth of knowledge about the local terrain and stay abreast of things like serious blowdowns and shelter closings. The shuttle service is very reasonably priced and was excellent.
minnesotasmith
08-30-2005, 17:59
I'd heard that the selection/amount of hiker food (food suitable for hauling in a backpack) was generally on the limited side in Fontana. Has this changed?
Jack Tarlin
08-30-2005, 18:05
No. The market in Fontana Village is still lousy: Very limited selection; they'll run out of things for days at a time or longer; and over-priced. The prudent hiker will either have a mail-drop waiting here with appropriate supplies, or will want to get a shuttle ride to nearby Robbinsville.
Whistler
08-30-2005, 18:25
No. The market in Fontana Village is still lousy: Very limited selection; they'll run out of things for days at a time or longer; and over-priced. The prudent hiker will either have a mail-drop waiting here with appropriate supplies, or will want to get a shuttle ride to nearby Robbinsville.I somewhat disagree, but I recognize that our tastes may be different. Browsing in the Outfitters and the General Store, I got a 3+ day resupply fairly easily. That's enough to get to Standing Bear, and you can certainly get more without too much trouble.
-Mark
Jack Tarlin
08-30-2005, 18:34
Whister:
It's something like 75 miles from the Park's southern boundary to Standing Bear Farm; most folks are NOT going to cover this distance in three days, especially in March or early April.
Unless you want to leave the Park to re-supply in Gatlinburg (and many folks don't), most folks bring at least 5-6 days worth of food from Fontana Dam, or even a bit more.
I personally would not want to buy food enough to last the better part of a week at the Fontana Village grocery, but to each their own.
Also, selection depends on what day you get there.....if you're the second or third thru-hiker that arrived on a particular day, you might be fine. If you're the thirteenth, well forget about stuff like Liptons or tuna fish or peanut butter or cheese; they simply don't carry a large quantity of many important items, and one frequently finds depleted shelves. For all these reasons and more, I don't like to re-supply here, but maybe I'm pickier about supplies than some folks. To each their own. I personally think Fontana Dam is one of the very few places remaining on the Trail where a food maildrop is a really good idea.
peter_pan
08-30-2005, 19:45
Stayed with Jeff and Nancy in 2003..great hosts...all the above raves are spot on...
Make sure you take some time to look at their stone point collection...one of the finest and largest for actual field collectors... as a professional flint knapper it was a true pleasure to spend an hour or two studying this collection... even a couple very nice Clovis points...those are 8,000-12,000 years old ...the oldest points in N. America.
Pan
jeff did a shuttle for me when i hiked a section between wesser and fontana
in 2001:cool: neo
Hikerhead
08-30-2005, 20:50
Look for my Beamer Hat while you're there. It should be on the Hokey wall or somewhere Jeff has his Hokey memorabilia. I gave it to Nancy at the Southern Ruck last year. She said her husband was a big Hokey fan.
Mountain Dog
11-13-2005, 22:49
If you have problems with Jeff or Nancy then YOU are the problem. :datz
The small grocery at Fontana Village doesn't open until April 1st. If you stay at the Hike Inn, you'll get a shuttle into a larger town where you can buy food. But the Hike Inn fills up fast during season (end of March-April) so make your reservations or end up at Fontana Village.
Spiritual Pillgrim
03-13-2006, 14:38
Thumbs up to Jeff and Nancy for me. Nancy was at the dam bout 10 minutes after I called. (I actually remembered to save 2 quarters to make the call). They did everything that I needed. Good bed and shower. Satelite TV as of about early Mar 2006. Lift into town for dinner/resupply and or whatever else. Didn't even gripe at me for pounding on the door way early lookin for more coffee! (one vehicle was gone on a shuttle so I figured everyone was up. All the dogs sure were after I knocked).
Mail drops usually don't work here on the trail. They are a waste of time and monty. Your best bet is for resupplying is getting at shuttle into Robbinsville with Jeff and Nancy.
The first time I used Jeff as a shuttle I had scheduled a walk from Fontana up to Clingman's. I told Jeff what time I would get up there and by golly he was there to pick me up. Not sure I would have trusted me to be there if I were him. Great people, great place to stay.
MedicineMan
06-01-2006, 03:26
the family AT:)
vaporjourney
03-11-2007, 12:47
My decision on where to stay at Fontana is up in the air. On the one hand you have the great folks at Hike Inn, although it is slightly pricy by hostel standards, but surely worth it. Then you have the beautiful shelter on the lake to take in a great view. I'm having trouble my mail drop here, if any. I was unaware of the shuttle service, and may opt for the freedom of just calling them up, buying food in Robbinsville and getting a huge meal, then relax in the beautiful surroundings at the lake. Only downside to the shelter is that you don't get a comfy bed before 5-6 days in such a beautiful area. I guess it will all depend on the weather as to where I decide to stay.
hopefulhiker
03-11-2007, 14:08
Nancy and Jeff are great.. Don't forget to check out Jeff's mini museum of arrowheads. They were flexible with shuttles to Robbinsville and working out rooms. It was a good place to stay.
My decision on where to stay at Fontana is up in the air. On the one hand you have the great folks at Hike Inn, although it is slightly pricy by hostel standards, but surely worth it. Then you have the beautiful shelter on the lake to take in a great view.
I like Fontana Village myself. Fairly cheap, nice rooms, color TV, restaurant, store, laundry, PO, outfitter. It's the perfect trail town.
Bloodroot
03-11-2007, 17:48
Nancy and Jeff are great.. Don't forget to check out Jeff's mini museum of arrowheads. They were flexible with shuttles to Robbinsville and working out rooms. It was a good place to stay.
Yeah Jeff had an awesome collection of arrowheads and stone mallets. They took good care of me when I crashed there due to a stress fracture for a couple days. Great people.
minnesotasmith
03-16-2007, 13:21
Mail drops usually don't work here on the trail. They are a waste of time and monty.
I used maildrops extensively in 2006 in every state, and they worked like a charm. Never had one go missing; only had 1 or 2 even a bit slow. Got exactly what I needed in multiple places resupply would have been a PITA, getting overpriced c**p if I'd gone with buying nearby.
stacy324
03-16-2007, 13:54
I've stayed there on several section hikes and plan on staying again. The only down side is some times of the year they fill up fast. Make sure you get reservations way ahead.
mweinstone
03-16-2007, 15:44
a smart person, lets use baltimore jack for instance. walks into the fontanna store, walks around in discust, buys only an ice cream treat and splits to look for real food. that place is weird. they must only be interested in the odd hiker who for lack of who knows what , thinks this store is gods gift from heven and goes hog wild. i just dunno.