Spence Cabin

Spence Cabin is a restored one-story cottage beside the Little River in Elkmont Historic District. It makes a good short stop if you like the district’s resort-era buildings, but it isn’t a walk-through museum: only groups with a daytime reservation can go inside. It’s a short walk from the Little River Trailhead; when a private event is underway, casual visitors may only be able to see the exterior.

Built in 1928 as Alice Townsend’s vacation home, the cabin was part of the Appalachian Club, a resort community whose members came to Elkmont for summer tennis, picnics, dances, and swims in the chilly river. Alice was the wife of Colonel Townsend, who owned the Little River Lumber Company and Little River Railroad. The cabin takes its name from the Spence family, its last lessees; former residents also called it River Lodge.

The restoration kept the cabin’s historic pink siding, green shutters, stone chimney, and rock entryway. A screened porch and stone patios extend the building toward the Little River, with one patio beside the water. For a photo, include the entrance sign and rounded stone chimney with the pink-and-green cabin behind them; those details make this building easy to recognize.

The Park Service offers it for daytime gatherings and meetings. There’s a warming kitchen with a refrigerator and microwave but no cook stove, plus two restrooms, one accessible. Most of the cabin is wheelchair accessible; the riverside patio is not. The historic building has no heat or air conditioning. Parking is available in a small gravel lot by the cabin and near the Little River Trailhead.