love valley

Nice place to go if you dont mind riding on rocky ( and I mean rocky) horse trails. Trust me stay at the Love Valley Campgroung. Nicest and cleanest of all the places in Love Valley. All level and the stalls are by far the most comfortable for your horses. If you can get ahold of and or hire a trail guide the best is Phil Luongo. You can try to navigate the trails by yourself but Phil knows the place like the back of his hand. He has a camp there in town. The town is a little quirky. We were there during the week so it was very quiet. Maybe a little better during the events or on a weekend. Scratch it off the bucket list once you go because you will probably not want to go back again. We went from South Florida so it was a long ride and we were very disappointed.

All was ok until going into a barn with 10-12 stalls or so, all with horses in them. Only one stall had fresh hay--the others were dirty and those horse were standing in thick,gross muck. One of the horses looked quite ill. No animal should live in these conditions and I emplore that action is taken!! I was going to call the proper authorities, but hope this will give you a chance to correct 1st.

Love Valley is unique. Small western ghost town with miles of horse trails. Bring your family, friends and your horse and experience the peace, quiet and beauty of the brushy mountain foothills. Centrally located just a short distance from charlotte, Winston-Salem and Asheville .

If you are looking for a resort with a bunch of stuck up people and room service, this is not the place for you! However, if you are looking for TONS of trails to ride horses, beautiful views, meeting tons of friendly people...you will love it!! It's very laid back, not a bunch of chaos going on. I have been going here camping and riding horses for years...and now my parents have a cabin there. We've always had a blast in Love Valley! There's nothing like getting a bunch of friends together for a LV weekend... ride all day, end up downtown, tie your horse at the hitching post outside the saloon and get a cold beer before heading back to the campsite! No cars allowed in town, only horses....it's like riding back in time!

For 14 years from day one when I attended the fun show and got my truck & trailer stuck and this stranger pulled me out at no charge, I'd come across a unique place. Met the Caruso's who insisted I come stay the night at their farm. Realized this town was made up of some of the nicest people who will do what ever they can to help a person out. They are kind and many live by the ways of the old west. Most have horses/mules as their main interest. If you're not a cowgirl/boy you may not get the same taste of town that many do. Yet, I've met many who dress the part and are there every Saturday night. They have a so much to offer in the way of camping, rooms, food, and the Love Valley Horseman's Association who leases the trails so there are miles of trails to ride. Scheduled events for rider's to join in. Just check facebook and come for a visit. Everything is not as old west as Andy dreamed but it's something he and I are proud to be a part of and look forward to going each year. Main part of town is dirt road and hitching posts for your equine so you can ride up and tie your horse and go in for a beverage or shop. You can park within walking distance and walk the boardwalk and do the same. Have lunch or dinner at one of the 2 eating establishments. Spend the night by getting a room or rent a cabin. Many options, with or without an equine partner.

I have traveled all over the Eastern United States with my horse. And there is no where like Love Valley NC. Where can you saddle up, ride the trails and end up in a western town? You can ride into town tie your horse at the hitching rail, enjoy a good meal, a cold beverage and mingle with other horse lovers. This is not Tweetsie Railroad or an amusement park, this if for cowgirls and cowboys that love to ride. Plenty of camping, cabins or rooms to rent. I have never felt afraid to ride the trails alone or be in town alone and everyone you meet there becomes your friend. I move to Love Valley in 2007 for the reasons above, I love this place and I am proud to call it home

I love the town of Love Valley, North Carolina. They are the most honest, loving people you will ever meet. All the locals have lived here most of there lives. Andy and Ellenora Barker started this town back in the 70's, they are my son's Great Uncle and Great Aunt, With the passing of Uncle Andy Barker, the town has changed some. All the businesses are local owned and operated as well as the local bars there. The General Store is operated by Ricky Caststevens and he is always on the boardwalk greeting people as they come by going to the Silver Spur Saloon for the night. Every Saturday night at 7;30 pm Wayne Duncan teaches line dancing and if you come to learn then it's free to get in that night. The Silver Spur Saloon is run by some really great people as well they are Michelle and Kevin Davidson. Friday nights are pool tournaments and open mic free for everyone to get in. Yes on Friday nights you will encounter the local kids in the bar for a few hours as they eat there meals and hang out with friends and family alike. On big weekends it is packed and crowded with many bouncer's to watch the crowd. The arena has been having Junior Rodeo's for as long as I can remember and sometimes they have a professional rodeo there as well. There are great places to camp around the small town as well, as park your camper and live dangerously for a weekend. All the local folks will welcome you with open arms, you couldn't ask for nicer or kinder folks. Love Valley Presbyterian Church is open to all and you guessed it you can wear your jeans, shirts, boots and cowboy hats. The first Sunday of every month they do a breakfast for fellowship of the town. The trails are awesome and made for fun and relaxation....if you bring trash in make sure and take it back out with you. Treat this town like you treat your home. I have been up and around Love Valley all my life. Beside the arena is a big 300 foot barn, part of it is a house, my son's grandparents live there. They used to have a camp site there but now they don't rent out as often as b/4. Everywhere you go up there is someone trying to help with giving you directions as well as just talking about that special little town. It also has a little bed and breakfast called Miss Kitty's. So next time your in the neighbor stop on it and see the big little town of Love Valley, North Carolina.

Love Valley is full of homegrown cowboys and cowgirls and if that's not a lifestyle u can handle, LV is not your place. you're born country, u don't "become" country. it's in your blood or not. these people were born and raised there and this is their way. There are plenty of friendly people there who have the back of anybody who isn't there to tear up the trails or the town, or mess with it's people. if u show up acting like a bad*ss, they will treat u bad. you act right, they treat u right :) LV offers lots of family events on many different weekends and different holidays throughout the year (check the website at townoflovevalley.com) and accepts all kinds of people alike. there are many childrens' weekends and events offered here in LV and we are about the children in the daytime and adults at night. certain bigger weekends may have more adults than children but hey if they're that young they dont need to be out and about anyway. get a sitter! it's no more rowdy than a beach gets! dirty and dingy? its a dirt road town crybaby, aint nothin paved here! cowboy wanna-be's?? it's the Cowboy Capitol! there's gonna be cowboys!! if you came to LV at any time of the year and had a bad experience, all i can tell u is something is wrong w/ YOU. you probably did something out of line and someone probably put you in your place so u wanna give bad reviews. i've never met more friendly people than here in Love Valley and anywhere we travel we tell people about it. if you want to meet good old fashioned, honest, country livin folks, Love Valley is your place :) otherwise, stay in the city!!! I LOVE LOVE VALLEY, NC!!!!!!!!!!!! :)

I would like people to know about my little town......When we first heard of Love Valley, we were scared to death to visit.....then we did and our fears were gone. 8 years ago we bought a cabin so we could vacation here whenever we wanted, after 3 years, we bought a house because we could not imagine not being here full time. Although we were new to this town, the people were friendly, helpful and neighborly. We have met people from all across the country who will tell you the same. For those who had a bad experience, 90% of the time they brought it on themselves. When you come to Love Valley, you will be treated with kindness and respect, we only ask that you respect our town and leave it as you found it. Before you judge on the opinions of a few, visit us and judge for yourself. Thank You, Christi Turk

I realize that this site is mostly for people that have traveled here and how their stay was, on a one time occasion.But as a Love Valley local i feel i have to express how i feel about "the cowboy capital" I have lived here all my life and have seen it go through many stages. At one point i will admit it was a little rough. But this beautiful town has always been a tourist attraction, including families.I see a lot of complaints about how they would not bring their kids here because of all the "drunks." To be honest, if i was not a local and knew everyone around i probably wouldn’t bring my kids up town after dark in the first place; mainly because yes, after a long day on the trails, that indeed may have included a few beers... i would most likely be coming up town to enjoy the night life. Example.... the bar, would you take your kids up to the strip in charlotte after 6 o’clock?The valley is a horse town, many of the people here have more experience with horses than most people you know, and ABSOLUTLY do not mistreat their horses; on big holiday weekends, i myself see horses being mistreated, but never by locals, on big weekends we have people from all over come to visit, if you see horses being mistreated, please don’t assume it’s a local, and please don’t hold it against the town. That’s like blaming a pencil for misspelled words, on occasion it may happen here, but it in no way should reflect on the town. I do not agree with any animal being mistreated but in some cases that has to be handled situation by situation. Dirt and dust is what makes this town so great, no other place in the world can you go and see the authentic old west like in Love Valley North Carolina, i would much rather my horses walk on the trails and dirt roads around this town, than asphalt and pavement any day. It is what this town was built around and wouldn’t be the same without it, i understand people travel to see places they have never seen before, but honestly when i travel to a place where i have never been, i do my research, which is why people go to websites like this. If dirt and dust is not your forte’ then obviously I’d think about heading farther north for a weekend vacation. I’m not by any means discouraging anyone from coming here, anywhere you go there are bound to be people that do not get along, and yes when you add alcohol to the mix it can get heated, but we do our best to keep it contained thanks to the great bar staff and bouncers that we have. We are not going to stop people from coming to our town because they may cause problems, if we did that we would have no business at all. Anyone in the right situation can cause a problem. Also us "locals" are very "close knit", most of us have known each other our entire lives, but by no means do we look at people as outsiders, we welcome these so called "outsiders" y'all are what keeps this town alive and running,I hate to see all these bad reviews about our little town, it’s kind of a catch 22 in most cases, because for one, coming here can sometimes be a culture shock for some people so if it’s not what the expected in any aspect it can be taken badly, and also, to be honest when i buy something or go somewhere, unless i did happen to get a bad product or have a bad time, that is the only time i even think to write a review, so for the people that do come here weekend after weekend, that have a great time, unfortunately most of the time it goes unrecorded.

I go to Love Valley quite frequently, and love it! All of the "locals" are very kind, as well as all of the business owners. I love the trails there as well, can ride for hours, and not see the same thing twice! I always enjoy my time spent in love valley, whether be on the trails or in town! Note to newcomers: this is a cowboy town, it has dirt roads, and dust everywhere, along with horses. If you're expecting the Taj Mahal, this is NOT the place for you! If you want to bring your horse, or even rent one, this is the place to enjoy it! And like anywhere else, there may be some "rowdy" people go through, but as for the locals , they are as nice of people as I've ever met!

This place was horrible! It was nothing like it was portrayed. We actually left a day early even though we had already paid for the next night. Everyone was drunk and very crude. We went downtown and none of the stores were even open. We went to The Chicken Coup at 6:00 and everyone there was already drunk and still riding their horses. The people there are very close knit and they could tell we were "outsiders". It felt like a drunken fight could break out at any time. We stayed there 15 mins and quickly left. There were stink bugs everywhere. The cabin we rented through Triple T Cabins was full of stink bugs and spiders and was not clean at all. When I told the owner we were leaving early she said the bugs have been bad this year and told us to come back again and we could stay free. I told her that will never happen!! Stay far far away from this place! I have never written a negative review about any lodging or town we've visited but I just felt compelled to do this.

The town is full of drunk people man handling their horses! Its a bunch of wanna be cowboys/girls that like to drink way too much and feel they need to ride around with guns on their hips. I would never take my kids there b/c I would feel for their safety. The place is NOT FAMILY FRIENDLY. Its a good idea, but in the hands of the wrong crowd. I would not recommend this place for anyone of color either. I feel sorry for the horses too. There are a few good people in the crowd...just not many. I have been multiple times over the years, and its all the same. Too bad.

I'm sorry some of the other people didn't enjoy the town. We loved it. One person said it was dirty and dingy. Well, it's a western town with dirt roads. What would you expect? You should check out their website and upload their brochure to find out when the different events are taking place. We just stumbled upon it after seeing a sign on one of the back roads and decided to visit. The saloon was open and we had a very good lunch (very good sandwich menu). We didn't have time to rent horses but we plan on going back and making a day of it.

I do not believe in drinking and riding as I've seen animals injured due to poor judgment on the part of their riders and Love Valley seems to have more than its fair share of drunks. There are some good trails and beautiful scenery but the town is full of drunk weekenders and you will encounter them on the trails as well. As a female, I would not feel safe riding in a small group or with just another female with me due to the rowdy nature of some of the riders.