Thursday, October 1, 2026
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Lake Lure, NC (WNN)—Lake Lure, NC, has been a vacation and weekend tourist destination for just shy of a century. Locals in this small town of around 1400 depend on the number of visitors each year who are drawn to this picturesque area of the Blue Ridge Mountains for their livelihood.
Even Hollywood has sought out the natural beauty of this almost hidden gem for the backdrop of several blockbuster movies. "Dirty Dancing" was filmed mostly in Lake Lure in 1986, and "The Last of the Mohicans" shot the iconic waterfall scene at Hickory Nut Falls in 1991-1992.
A large portion of the movie was filmed in Chimney Rock State Park. Other NC Blue Ridge Mountain filming locations include Lake James and the Biltmore Estate in Asheville, NC. Things took a tragic turn in September 2024 when Hurricane Helene ravaged the area, destroying nature, homes, and lives. Crews from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, volunteers, and other professional disaster relief teams have been working feverishly to clean up, repair, and restore the area.
View looking down from Chimney Rock.
June, 1991 Photo by: Roger Sigmon
Lake Lure itself has been put into a drawdown phase. This means the water has been drained to a level low enough to allow infrastructure repairs and upgrades to be performed, as well as the removal of debris washed in by the storm. Much work has been needed, such as dam repairs, sewer system upgrades, and dredging to remove sediment and debris. The major upgrade is the installation of a reservoir drain that will make future drawdowns quicker and easier. This type of work is usually mundane and mostly routine, rarely yielding anything memorable.
Drawdown of Lake Lure
June, 23rd, 2025. Photo from: Town of Lake Lure Facebook page.
The Lake Lure drawdown is the first of this magnitude since it was created in the late 1920s. Folklore has long indicated that boaters venturing to the center of the lake could see the outlines of a city when peering down into the water. Stories of paranormal activity, especially at night, around the wooded areas of the lake's shore have also circulated for many decades. Workers have yet to unearth any ghosts; however, they have discovered a window into the past of the early 20th century. No, they did not find a wormhole allowing for time travel. They did discover the next best thing: the remnants of an underwater town.
During a recent survey to map the top and bottom of the lake, McKim and Creed Engineers, Surveyors, and planners were using a multibeam echosounder sonar system when they discovered a submerged bridge. Shortly after, they discovered portions of a roadway. This is not the mythical city of Atlantis; instead, it is what remains of the town of Buffalo. The area now known as Lake Lure was the town of Buffalo in Whiteside Valley on the banks of the Rocky Road River in the mid-1920s. Lake Lure Dock Company has also unearthed some hidden treasures from the Buffalo era.
The company has been assigned the duty of inspecting docks, boat ramps, and retaining walls. By mid-June, 376,000 tons of silt and sediment, along with 46,744 cubic yards of debris, had been removed to allow for their initial work to begin. While inspecting docks and traversing the lake bottom, not seen in almost 100 years, among the many discoveries were three of notable interest. A 1920'2 Model T-style truck was found lying on its side.
Model T found under the lake.
June 16th, 2025. Photo from: Lake Lure Dock Company Facebook page
It had been abandoned after a mechanical breakdown and stripped of any usable parts. It was left to be claimed by the waters when the man-made reservoir was flooded to form Lake Lure. Also discovered was a remarkably mostly intact 32-foot boat; the name "Pooh Bear" is still legible on the bow.
The hull of the “Pooh Bear” found under the lake.
June 11th, 2025. Photo from: Lake Lure Dock Company facebook page
This former water taxi from the early days of the development was purchased by the Tanner family and converted to personal use. They were the ones responsible for naming the boat. The descendants of the Tanner family knew about the boat and that it had sunk somewhere in the lake during the 1950s. What a shock this discovery must have been for them like being reunited with a long-lost friend or relative. A part of their family history had been confirmed and re-established. The other interesting find was a fully intact set of concrete steps from a business or residence. What began as an inspection for dock repairs has turned into a trip to yesteryear and the almost-forgotten town of Buffalo.
Dr. Lucius B. Morse had a vision of creating a mountain resort in the Hickory Nut Gorge. His dreams of grandeur would include inns and a spa centered around a lake. The breathtaking natural beauty of the area, along with its planned amenities, would surely be a tourist mecca. His plan has one major flaw: no lake exists in the gorge. He and his two brothers formed Chimney Rock Mountain Inc. and immediately began acquiring land. Before their acquisitions were complete, they would have acquired roughly 8,000 acres of land. A dam was constructed between 1925 and 1926. Buffalo was an 1800s gold rush town that, at this point, was a farming and mining town of around 150 residents.
It was chosen as the home of the new man-made lake that Morse envisioned as the centerpiece of his potential resort. Many of the homes and buildings were removed, but a few, such as the schoolhouse, were left prior to the land being inundated with water in 1927. Buffalo would be lost to the annals of history, and Lake Lure was created. The new lake would cover 720 acres with a shoreline of 27 miles. An island that covered 7 acres was also included. Later in the year, the town of Lake Lure would be incorporated, and the construction of an inn would be completed. His dream was beginning to materialize. All too soon, this dream would become a nightmare.
The Pavilion building at Lake Lure used for several scenes in the movie “Dirty Dancing”.
June, 1991. Photo By: Roger Sigmon
October 24, 1929, would become known as Black Thursday, the first day of the 1929 stock market crash that would propel the United States into a great depression. The Morse brothers saw all their holdings in the Chimney Rock Mountain Inc. fall into foreclosure. The family managed to hold onto Chimney Rock Park. They made the most of what they had left.
Although Dr. Morse's original dream of a sprawling, thriving mountain resort vanished, Lake Lure and Chimney Rock became popular tourist destinations. In 1965, the town of Lake Lure acquired possession of the lake.
The lake at Lake Lure will remain closed throughout the summer, although many restaurants and businesses are open and eagerly await visitors. Chimney Rock State Park reopened on June 27, 2025, on a limited basis with restrictions. The cleanup and restoration are a massive undertaking, and officials hope to be back fully operational as quickly and safely as possible. Currently, reservations are required for entry to the park.
Chimney Rock
June, 1991. Photo by: Roger Sigmon
Reservations must be made and paid for online at www.chimneyrockpark.com and are limited to the number of available parking spots at the park entrance. The park is open Friday – Monday, and reservations can be made for the hours of 8:30 am and 4:30 pm in blocks of one hour. Visitors need to exit the park no later than 7 pm. This is still an active recovery site, meaning access is limited and subject to changes. Please consult the park website before planning a trip. NCDOT has erected a temporary bridge to the park.
The route to the park is NC Highway 9 through Lake Lure. The entrance is accessed through Chimney Rock Village next to the Harley-Davidson building. Note that there is no public parking in the village or access to the Rocky Broad River, as it remains closed and is still in recovery mode.
There is still no opening date for the village, which was practically destroyed by Helene. Although the village is still closed, businesses and restaurants in other areas remain open and welcome your patronage as they struggle to recover financially. These owners are resilient and live out the mantra of North Carolina strong.
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