For our final stop in the Country Clubs & Communities series, we head east to Lake Toxaway and Burlingame, where golf, water, and the surrounding mountains create another distinctive way to experience life on the Highlands Cashiers Plateau.

While each community has its own character, both offer a strong connection to the outdoors. At Lake Toxaway, life centers around North Carolina’s largest private lake, while Burlingame combines golf and club amenities with the lakes, streams, and Horsepasture River that wind through its mountain setting.

Lake Toxaway

Lake Toxaway has been a destination for mountain and lake living for generations. The 5,000 acre community includes approximately 1,100 homesites and is set along North Carolina’s largest private lake. Surrounding the community are Hawk Mountain, Panthertail Mountain, Cold Mountain, and Mt. Toxaway, along with more than 10,000 acres of nearby wilderness areas.

The lake itself is central to the Lake Toxaway lifestyle. Days on the water can be spent boating, fishing, kayaking, paddleboarding, or simply enjoying the scenery from a waterfront home or dock. The combination of lake and mountain views creates a setting unlike anywhere else on the Plateau.

Residential opportunities throughout Lake Toxaway range from waterfront homes and mountain estates to properties overlooking the golf course and surrounding forests, giving homeowners a variety of ways to experience the community.

Lake Toxaway Country Club

Lake Toxaway Country Club adds golf, racquet sports, fitness, dining, and social activities to the community’s lake centered lifestyle.

The club’s 18 hole golf course underwent a $9 million renovation in 2008 led by architect Kris Spence. Golfers also have access to the Tom Fazio designed Golf Learning Center, a full service 20 acre training facility.

Beyond golf, members enjoy a state of the art fitness center, five Har Tru fast dry tennis courts, three pickleball courts, croquet, a heated swimming pool, and multiple dining options. Together, the amenities provide plenty to do away from the lake while maintaining the relaxed pace that defines life in Lake Toxaway.

With the lake just beyond the club, a day can move easily from golf or tennis to an afternoon on the water, followed by dinner with family and friends. It is this connection between club life and lake life that has helped make Lake Toxaway such an enduring mountain destination.

Burlingame

Nearby in Sapphire, Burlingame offers another interpretation of mountain club living, with golf, recreation, and the natural landscape at the center of the community.

Originally known as Sapphire Lakes, Burlingame was developed in 1985. Today, the community includes more than 500 homesites and over 300 existing homes, with real estate ranging from condominiums and villas to cottages, single family homes, and homesites.

Burlingame Country Club

At the heart of Burlingame is its 18 hole championship golf course, complemented by tennis, croquet, multiple dining options, and a heated outdoor pool and spa.

Water is also an important part of the Burlingame experience. The community offers lake and river access, with boating as well as fly and trout fishing along the Horsepasture River. That connection to the river gives Burlingame a character all its own and provides another way for residents and members to enjoy the landscape beyond the golf course.

The variety of homes and amenities, combined with its location in Sapphire, creates a community that offers both an active club lifestyle and easy access to the outdoor experiences found throughout the Plateau.

A Final Look Around the Plateau

Over the past several months, our Country Clubs & Communities series has taken us across the Highlands Cashiers Plateau, from the historic clubs of Highlands and the golf and lifestyle communities of Cashiers to the shores of Lake Glenville and, finally, Lake Toxaway and Burlingame.

No two communities are exactly alike. Some are defined by championship golf and generations of tradition. Others center around lakes, rivers, wellness, outdoor recreation, or simply the opportunity to spend more time surrounded by the mountains.

That variety is part of what makes the Highlands Cashiers Plateau so special. Finding the right community is about more than choosing a home. It is about finding the setting and lifestyle that feel right for the way you want to experience the mountains.

While this brings our Country Clubs & Communities summer series to a close, there are many more communities and neighborhoods to discover across the Plateau. We hope the series has offered a helpful introduction to just some of the places that make this corner of Western North Carolina such an extraordinary place to call home.

For more information about any of the communities featured in our series, or for insight into real estate across the Highlands Cashiers Plateau, reach out to our Highlands or Cashiers team. We would be happy to help you find the community and property that are right for you.