Young Summers

Written By: Sydney Galarda | Issue: May 2023 | Photograph By: Susan Renfro

After spending eight summers in the mountains, you tend to find things to do that everyone enjoys. Sometimes it’s not easy to start finding those things, though.

So, as a teen, here are some things that you and the children and teens you stay with might enjoy doing!

First, there’s the Albert Carlton-Cashiers Community Library. I know most people don’t go to libraries anymore, but my sister and I visit this one about twice a week to participate in games, go to movies, and try other fun things that they do! Every Thursday, they have movies for both adults and kids to watch. While the kids’ movies do tend to stay more towards Disney and family-friendly movies, the adult movies vary more and have more action in them, which may be more engaging for your teens.

Tuesdays are when most of the games happen, which range from crafts to theater to storytelling to outdoor color courses. A library is still a library, so take a look around! There’s a vast selection of books from all genres, as well as a more bookstore-esque room where you can buy books to keep for low prices. They also have a DVD shelf where you, your teen, or the children coming with you can pick out movies you like. You can also visit the Village Green nearby, which has a playground and some short trails for you to explore.

Second, if you’re staying near Cashiers, there’s also Fairfield Lake and various smaller beaches for everyone to enjoy. Yes, I realize that getting kids and teens out of the house and off their devices can be challenging at times, but my sister and I always enjoy swimming. At the lake, there’s a buoyed swimming area with a floating dock on one end that my sister likes to jump off. I typically stay in the shallow water, since I prefer the sand and usually make sandcastles. There are also fish that swim around and may come up to you while you’re in the water. Fishing is allowed outside of the swimming area if you have the proper license to do so.

If your child or teen is on the more adventurous or outdoorsy side, congratulations, there are also a lot of trails, waterfalls, and other things for you to do with them! One thing my sister, the more adventurous one of us, likes to do is go ziplining. One good place to try this is Highlands Aerial Park, near Scaly Mountain. Also, Highlands Outpost offers tubing, fishing, gem mining and their mountain coaster.

For the animal lovers out there, we recently discovered Whitewater Equestrian Center, where you can go and ride horses with a group of people and a guide. My sister and I had never ridden a horse before going there and they kindly guided us through what to do, so experience doesn’t matter when you visit. In addition to getting to ride horses, there are also several nice areas to take pictures as well as a rest stop along the trail.

For the more indoorsy animal lovers, my sister and I have recently taken on a challenge that we think others would enjoy, too. Since we couldn’t go out as much during the pandemic, we started staying inside and watching animals that passed by the house on various cameras we have set up or, if we were lucky, by actually seeing them. We’ve been taking pictures of everything we see and running them through an app on her phone that identifies the animal and gives some facts about them, such as their genus and species, their diet, what they do, and if they’re dangerous or not. She also has an app that does similar things for plants.

Finally, the Sapphire Valley Resort Rec Center and Community Center have plenty of things to do, too. You can go to the community center every Wednesday to play Bingo for cash prizes. While many people wouldn’t think this is exciting for teens and children, there are actually quite a lot who go every week during the summer, and who would turn down the possibility of winning money? You do have to pay for your bingo cards.

Outside, there are pools, mini golf, a track, a river trail, a playground, and dog parks for those of you who bring your animal companions to the mountains with you. There’s also a little spot for gem mining! Inside, there’s a saltwater pool, checkers, and an arcade. Yes, they do have an arcade that works exactly like older arcades used to and has some of the original games, such as Pac-Man and the claw games. So, stick a quarter in and your teen is back to gaming. In the winter, the community center also has skiing and snow tubing.

Also, please know that some of these things may require you to be a property owner or amenity card holder to do; they’re not all open to the public, so call ahead.

by Sydney Galarda  / photos by Susan Renfro