Lake Toxaway, NC has always offered something rare: genuine mountain solitude, dramatic scenery, and a pace of life that feels genuinely removed from the noise. What it has lacked – until now – is a true gathering place. Longcliff is being built to change that, bringing a walkable village, live programming, event spaces, and daily community life to the heart of the Highlands-Cashiers Plateau.
For years, the honest answer was: enjoy the land, the lake, and the quiet. Lake Toxaway draws people who want exactly that. The natural setting is extraordinary – Toxaway Falls, miles of mountain wilderness, and a sky that turns colors most places never see. Lake Toxaway Country Club has long served as the social anchor for the area, offering golf, dining, and a tight-knit membership community.
But outside that, options for casual, everyday gathering and connection have been limited. No walkable town center. No neighborhood café. No place to catch live music on a summer evening without driving to Cashiers or Highlands.
That gap was exactly what drew Ryan Stahl and David Parks to this land.
“You lack conveniences,” Parks has noted, “and most importantly, you lack a place for the community to gather.” That observation became the foundation of Longcliff’s design.
Longcliff is a new mountain village community on the eastern end of the Highlands-Cashiers Plateau, located along US 64 in Lake Toxaway. It sits at the edge of Gorges State Park, with trail access into some of the most ecologically rich terrain in the southern Appalachians.
The community is being designed not as a gated escape but as a genuine village – one with gathering spaces, walkable paths, daily amenities, and a calendar of events that bring people together across every season. Its public spaces, including the Longcliff Nature Preserve, the Great Lawn, and the Discovery Center, are open to the broader Lake Toxaway community, not just residents.
That distinction matters. Longcliff isn’t positioned as a private enclave. It’s designed to become what this part of western NC has been missing: a true social and civic hub.
This is where things get specific. Longcliff is building out a layered system of gathering spaces, each with its own character and programming. Here’s what’s coming and when.
The Edge Opening early summer 2026, The Edge sits at the highest point of the property on the Blue Ridge Plateau. An open-air covered pavilion is planned, connected to the lawn by patio hardscape, designed to host small weddings, concerts, sunrise yoga, and sunset cookouts with those mountain ridgelines as the backdrop.
Multiple fire pits and meandering paths are part of the vision for the space. During the 2026 season, while the Great Lawn finishes construction, The Edge is open to the broader community.
The Great Lawn Opening targeted for October 2026, the Great Lawn will be Longcliff’s primary public gathering green. The programming planned here reflects what’s been missing from the area for a long time: art and music festivals built with local arts organizations, food-truck evenings, holiday celebrations, and live music under the stars. At the back of the lawn, a playground made from real logs off the property gives younger visitors their own space while everyone else settles in.
Hillside Park Starting in 2027, Hillside Park will be carved into the mountainside within the Camp Longcliff neighborhood, offering firepits, a croquet lawn, and a hilltop pavilion reached by winding trails. It’s a more intimate setting than the Great Lawn – the kind of place for quieter evenings with neighbors.
The Market and Café Under construction now, with delivery expected in Q4 2027, the Market and Café is designed to become the daily heartbeat of the village. Mornings, it’s coffee and fresh pastries. Afternoons and evenings, it transitions to wine and light bites. The market side offers local goods, grab-and-go meals, and fresh provisions. Indoor and outdoor seating will be visible from the main road, giving the whole community a reason to stop.
The Village Center Planned around the Great Lawn, the Town Center will include retail, a restaurant from a local or regional chef, and a boutique hotel. Plans call for connecting it all by pedestrian walkways so that moving between spaces feels natural on foot.
Most mountain development in this region has followed a familiar model: build homes, preserve the scenery, and let residents sort out their own social lives. Longcliff is taking a different approach.
A dedicated lifestyle ambassador will curate a year-round calendar of events and activities. The design of the village itself creates what David Parks, Longcliff partner and President of Everstead Signature Builder, describes as “pockets where people can gather and make memories for generations to come.” Front porch homes face common paths. Streets invite walking. Neighbors pass each other daily.
That social design is intentional. Ryan Stahl, development partner at Longcliff, has described his vision plainly: “The mountains are a magical place where the cares of the world fall away. When I envisioned Longcliff, I wanted it to be a place where you could begin a new chapter, where your soul is fed.”
For people who have loved Lake Toxaway for what it already is, Longcliff adds something the area has simply never had.
Lake Toxaway offers hiking, waterfall access, scenic drives, and the private amenities of Lake Toxaway Country Club. Longcliff is adding public programming including concerts, festivals, farmers market-style events, and community gatherings on its Great Lawn and at The Edge beginning in 2026.
Yes. The Highlands-Cashiers Plateau has a true four-season climate – mild summers, dramatic fall foliage, and winters that bring quiet beauty without the harsh extremes of higher-elevation mountain regions. Longcliff is designed specifically for year-round community life.
The Lake Toxaway area currently relies on nearby Cashiers and Highlands for most dining options. Some Toxaway restaurants near Longcliff include Panthertown Café, Villa Amato Italian, and Los Vaqueros Mexican Restaurant. Longcliff’s planned Market and Café will bring café, wine bar, and provisions to Lake Toxaway itself, with a full restaurant planned as part of the Village Center.
Lake Toxaway Country Club is a private membership club offering golf, dining, and social programming for the Lake Toxaway community. It is a separate entity from Longcliff but part of the broader social fabric of the area.
The Discovery Center opens May 15, 2026. The Edge is open to the community during the 2026 season. The Great Lawn opens October 2026. The Market and Café is expected in Q4 2027.
Ready to see what life in this new mountain community looks like? Schedule an appointment at our Presentation Gallery below.
