When I drove up the Three Peaks driveway for the first time a couple weeks ago, I got a huge smile on my face. The big trees surrounding the campground, mountain views, and birdsong put me right at ease. I trundled my camper up the little hill to check in at the cute market, which has everything from eggs and bacon to kids' toys, treats, and locally made goods.

My camper's only 20' long, so it's dinky in the spacious, pull-through lots they have here. The trees are still new among the sites, but the owners planted more than 400 before the resort opened this past May. The amount of work Donna and Mark Krauss and others have done to make this place wonderful is mind-boggling!

It's awesome that Ingles grocery store, which has tons of local organic offerings, is only 3 miles away in the town of Spruce Pine. It's a great little town, with lots of art, shopping, and terrific restaurants.

Other things I love are the huge, private shower rooms (so clean!), the kids' playground, the fenced-in dog park, the game room and laundry, and the incredible number of things to do locally. On any given day, you could take a mountain hike, go mining for your own gems (real gems!), drive the Blue Ridge Parkway, go tubing in the nearby Toe River, and all manner of other adventures depending what you're into.

I hear a nice swimming pool will also be ready soon, so that will be fantastic.

Highly recommended! I'd get up here soon before even more people discover it next year.