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September 11, and 12 we will ride to Charit Creek. If you have not stayed at the lodge before, you have missed one of the best attractions at Big South Fork. We will ride from Saddle Valley to Middle Creek trailhead, and then take Gobblers Knob trail around to Hatfield Ridge, and then down to the lodge, along the banks of Station Camp Creek.. We will return to Saddle Valley Sunday, by way of Black house Branch trail, across Jack’s Ridge to Bandy Creek for lunch, then back North White Oak to Grooms Branch to Cumberland Valley trailhead and back to Saddle Valley. We provide a campsite Friday night, so we can get an early start, saddle bag lunch on the trail, and arrangements with Charit Creek.. A hot dinner, hot shower, and hot breakfast, make this ride the way to go if you want to see Big South Fork from horseback, and still have a sit down dinner and warm bed to sleep in at the end of the day. This year we will be going “indoor camper”, we will not be eating at the lodge in the main dining hall, but at our cabin. Teresa and I will grill pork chops and fixin’s at the grill and over the fire. We’ll have a hot breakfast on “our” schedule. We’ll also need our own bedroll and pillow, we will take the truck to the parking lot at the power lines, and haul the rest of our gear down, so we don’t have to pack it all day. Pack a change of clothes in one side of your saddle bag, and a bottle of wine in the other, and join us for a great weekend.
$125 on your horse
$250 on one of ours
Price includes a campsite and accommodations for your horse at Saddle Valley on Friday and Saturday night, your rig will be secure at the campground, lunch on the trail will be saddle bag sandwiches and chips, supper at Charit Creek will be grilled pork chops and fixin’s, breakfast will be bacon, scrambled eggs, toast, coffee and orange juice
E-mail Ed now to make reservations
 Charit Creek Lodge, located deep in the Big South Fork National River and Recreation Area, is only accessible by horseback, foot or mountain bike. Well-maintained hiking and horse trails lead you through interesting and beautiful places on your way to the lodge.
Located where Charit Creek and Station Camp Creek meet, the lodge rests in a beautiful pasture framed by magnificent bluffs. This valley has given shelter to travelers in the Big South Fork since the Indian hunting camps. A white hunter, Jonathan Blevins, built the first cabin here in 1817. His log structure still stands as part of the lodge.
 Operated as a youth hostel from 1987 until mid 1989, management of the Charit Creek property was awarded to the operators of LeConte Lodge, a renowned wilderness accommodation in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. The proprietors, Stokely Hospitality Enterprises, under the management of Tim and Lisa Line, have transformed the hostel into a full-service accommodation, while preserving its rustic integrity.
Let the pleasure you get from the wilderness continue long after the sun goes down. Charit Creek Lodge offers congenial accommodations and hearty meals without disturbing the nature you've come to enjoy.
After a true country dinner, sit back in your front porch rocker and see a sky full of stars, listen to the stream, and watch the firefly  displays; no hum of machinery or bright electric lights to interfere.
Each morning wake to the smell of fresh coffee on the stove.
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