Turnkey Mountain STR | The Lodges at Eagles Nest

Around here, we measure a home by a few things you won’t find on a spec sheet. How the light lands in the late afternoon. Whether you can actually use the backyard or just admire it from a safe distance. How quickly you can get from your front door to a glass of something local. By that math, 135 Vineyard Trail does awfully well.

This one sits inside Vineyard Village, a maintenance-free pocket of the Lodges at Eagles Nest, and it’s the kind of property that makes the lock-and-leave crowd very happy. Brand new in 2025, fully furnished, three bedrooms, three baths — and a price tag of $1,349,000 that puts it squarely in our Banner Elk luxury market. But specs only tell you so much. Let’s walk through what it’s actually like to live here, because that’s the part that matters whether you’re relocating from Charlotte, hunting for a second home, or just nosy about what’s new in the neighborhood (no judgment — we’re all a little nosy about Eagles Nest).

The Living Space That’s All About the Light

Walk in and your eyes go straight to the windows. That’s by design.

The heart of this home is an open-concept living, dining, and kitchen area, and the whole back wall is essentially glass — massive windows and big sliding doors that turn the High Country sunset into a permanent piece of art on your wall. Anyone who’s lived through a Banner Elk autumn evening knows what I mean. The light around here does things you don’t see in flatter parts of the world, and this house was clearly built to catch every bit of it.

The layout flows the way you’d want it to: the kitchen opens right into the living and dining spaces, so whoever’s cooking isn’t banished away from the party. It works for a quiet Tuesday with two people and it works for a holiday crowd that somehow doubled in size since last Christmas. (We’ve all hosted that gathering.) Furnished with a curated, refined-rustic collection that actually suits the mountains — no cookie-cutter staging here — it’s genuinely move-in ready. The hard part of settling into a mountain home is usually the settling. This one skips most of it.

Three Bedrooms, Three Real Retreats

Here’s a detail that quietly sets this home apart: every bedroom has its own ensuite bath.

Three spacious bedrooms, three bathrooms, modern fixtures, and finishes that lean elegant without trying too hard. The why is simple — nobody’s negotiating shower schedules or tiptoeing down a hallway at 6 a.m. Every guest, every kid, every in-law gets their own corner of privacy. If you’ve ever considered putting the home on the rental market when you’re not using it (a lot of Eagles Nest owners do), that ensuite-everywhere layout is exactly what guests are searching for.

Then there’s the loft. Call it the flex space — and I mean that as a compliment. It’s the spot that becomes a home office when you need to pretend you’re working, a bunk room for overflow guests, a reading nook, or a little media hideaway. Mountain homes live or die by their adaptable square footage, and this loft earns its keep.

That Flat Backyard (Yes, It’s a Big Deal)

If you’ve spent any time house-hunting in the Blue Ridge, you already know why I’m putting a whole section on a yard.

Flat land is the rarest currency in these mountains. Most “backyards” up here are more of a polite suggestion — a steep drop you wave at from the deck. Not this one. 135 Vineyard Trail sits on just over an acre with a large, genuinely flat backyard, which around here is something close to a luxury amenity. The covered back porch is your front-row seat to the cool mountain air, and the level yard beyond is a blank canvas: a fire pit for shoulder-season evenings, a play area, a garden, room for the dog to actually run. Pick your project.

And because Vineyard Village handles the exterior upkeep, you get to enjoy all of it without owning a single piece of yard equipment. The community maintains the outside; you spend your weekends on the trail instead of behind a mower. That’s the trade, and it’s a good one.

Living Inside the Gates at Eagles Nest

A home is only half the story. The other half is what’s a short walk from your door.

This is where 135 Vineyard Trail really flexes. You’re within walking distance of the Eagles Nest Winery — close enough that “let’s go taste a few” doesn’t require designating a driver, which is a small luxury that pays off on slow Saturday afternoons (live music included, when the season’s right). From there, you’ve got quick access to the Sportsman’s Lodge, the Bistro, and a state-of-the-art fitness center, plus the community’s sprawling network of hiking, mountain biking, and ATV trails practically at your property line.

That’s the rhythm of a place like this. Winters lean into the quiet and the snow, with Sugar Mountain and Beech Mountain slopes a short drive away. Summers are the cool-mountain-escape season the rest of the state is jealous of. Fall — well, you already know about our fall. And no matter the season, you’re a manageable trip from Boone for the practical stuff and Valle Crucis for a slower kind of afternoon. It’s the resort-town energy and small-town ease that make Banner Elk what it is, both at once.

The Takeaway

Some homes you have to talk yourself into. This isn’t one of them. 135 Vineyard Trail brings together the things people actually move to the High Country for — those legendary sunset views, a layout that works for real life, a flat yard that’s harder to find than you’d think, and the kind of lock-and-leave freedom that lets you spend your time exploring instead of maintaining.

We’re lucky to call this corner of the mountains home, and homes like this one are a big part of why. If you want the full walkthrough, the video tour is up on our Banner Elk Living YouTube channel — and you can find more details and current listings anytime at bannerelkliving.com. Come see what the view’s all about.

Let’s talk about High Country real estate:

Jeff Hamm
Real Estate Broker
Ivester Jackson | Christie’s
BannerElkLiving.com
(980) 422-6069