The Main Lodge is the heart and gathering place of Three Little Bears Retreat—a shared basecamp where each day’s adventures begin and where stories, friendships, and meaning are carried home at night. Serving as our welcoming lobby, social commons, and operational center, the lodge brings guests together to plan expeditions, reflect on the day, and connect through shared experience.

Like all structures at the retreat, the Main Lodge pays homage to the explorers and conservationists who shaped the Smokies. This lodge, however, is specifically dedicated to the cultural and historical stewards of the park: Horace Kephart, George Masa, and the Cherokee people, whose enduring relationship with this land laid the foundation for its preservation. Their legacy lives here—in the stories we share, the values we uphold, and the way we move through the mountains with respect.

At the center of the lodge is our chef-prepared dining experience, inspired by Kephart’s Camp Cookery and rooted in farm-to-table Appalachian cuisine. Meals draw from open-fire traditions, native ingredients, and regional foodways, creating a table meant for fellowship as much as nourishment.

The lodge also houses our guest spa and fitness room, functions as headquarters for guided adventures and safaris, and transforms into a vibrant entertainment and learning hub—hosting art classes, live music, educational seminars, weddings, and special gatherings.

It is from this place that we espouse the Cherokee principle of Nuwati, or “medicine”—the belief that everything in life is interconnected and that all things have purpose. As evening settles in, guests gather by the fire to exchange trail stories, celebrate new stamps in their wilderness passports, and recognize the quiet ways adventure, culture, and conservation are woven together.

More than a lodge, this is the soul of the retreat—a place where history informs the present, community gives meaning to adventure, and connection is as essential as the wild landscapes beyond the door.