Researcher Housing
Five residences on a 24-acre campus in Highlands provide simple, affordable lodging for researchers, students, and invited guests. Every residence has a fully equipped kitchen, free laundry, and campus-wide Wi-Fi. Groceries and restaurants are within a mile.
- 52
- Beds on campusacross five residences, all XL twins
- $40
- Per person, per nightstandard rate · $50 in the Duplex
- 1 PM
- Self check-incheck-out is noon on departure day
How to book
Reservations are made by email. The earlier you write, the more likely we can place your whole group in one building.
Email us your dates
Write to hbs@wcu.edu with your arrival and departure dates, the number of people, and a line about the research, course, or program bringing you to Highlands. If you are a course instructor or group leader, tell us how many students and whether you need lab or classroom space as well.
We confirm your building
Your confirmation names your residence and the campus address to use on arrival day. Check the address before you set off — the cottages and the Valentine House/Duplex use different street entrances, and cell signal drops on the approach to Highlands.
Read the guide, then shop
The Visitor Information Guide covers what we provide and what you bring. The most important line in it: buy your groceries before you drive up the mountain. Meals are not included, every resident cooks, and Plateau prices are steep.
Our Residences
Four of the five buildings share bedrooms, bathrooms, and kitchens; the Duplex is the exception. Your confirmation email names your building — we assign residences to make the best use of a small campus, so please don't ask for a particular one.
Howell Cottage
A one-story building with four shared bedrooms, two bathrooms, and a common room, fully renovated in 2018–2019 with new bathrooms, heat, and air conditioning. Howell residents cook and eat in the Cottages Dining Room next door, a shared kitchen and dining space used by all three cottages.
265 North Sixth Street, Highlands, NC 28741
Wright & Deacon Cottages
Two one-story cottages, each sleeping up to eight, recently renovated with new bathrooms, heating, and air conditioning. Like Howell, both cottages cook in the shared Cottages Dining Room and use the free laundry in the Weyman Building. Small courses and field teams often fill one cottage between them.
265 North Sixth Street, Highlands, NC 28741
Valentine House
A two-story wood-frame house built in 1881 as a private residence, with six bedrooms of two or three beds each, three shared bathrooms, a living room, kitchen, dining room, and breakfast nook. Washer and dryer are in the house, shared with Duplex residents.
888 Horse Cove Road, Highlands, NC 28741
The Duplex
Built in 2003, two adjoining self-contained apartments, each with its own kitchen, living room, bathroom, and two bedrooms. The Duplex is the one residence with a kitchen you don't share with another building; HBS faculty and senior researchers are given priority. Laundry is in Valentine House next door — let the Valentine residents know before you use it.
888 Horse Cove Road, Highlands, NC 28741
Living on campus
The short version of the Visitor Information Guide. Almost everything visitors tell us they wished they had known is here.
Beds & linens
Every bed is an XL twin in a shared bedroom. Bring your own XL twin fitted sheet, top sheet, blanket, and pillow, or rent a set from us for $50. Towels and washcloths are yours to bring. Mattresses are firm — a mattress pad earns its space in the car — and nights on the Plateau are cool even in July, so pack a real blanket.
Kitchens & groceries
Meals are not provided; every residence has a fully equipped kitchen with cookware, dishes, and a coffee maker. Buy groceries before you drive up — Franklin, Sylva, and Clayton have full supermarkets at a fraction of Plateau prices. Label all food with your name and departure date; unmarked items are discarded.
Cleaning
There is no full-time housekeeper. A cleaning service comes twice a week, Tuesday and Saturday, for shared spaces — bathrooms, kitchens, and common rooms. Cleaners do not enter bedrooms. Between visits, wash your dishes the day you use them and wipe down what you cook on.
Laundry
Machines are free; bring your own detergent and empty the lint trap. Cottage residents use the Weyman Building, through the exterior door to the left of the large windows. Valentine and Duplex residents use the machines in Valentine House.
Wi-Fi & phone
Wi-Fi is free across campus; bring your own device and join the network below. Cell signal is patchy in the surrounding mountains and can vanish on the drive in, so download maps and directions before you leave. The Station office is 828.526.2602; press Option 2 outside business hours.
- Network
- Coker
- Password
- 5268282797
Shared spaces
Bathrooms are shared by everyone on your hall — keep your things in your room rather than on the counter. Bunk frames and old walls carry sound; earplugs are a small investment before a long field day. Tell staff at the Administration Building when soap or paper runs out.
House rules
Most of these exist because of bears. A campus shared with gardeners, Nature Center visitors, and other residents works because everyone cleans up after themselves.
- Never leave food or trash outside, on a porch, or in a vehicle overnight.
- Alcohol inside residences only, per university policy.
- Label all food with your name and departure date.
- Clean up after yourself in kitchens, bathrooms, and common rooms.
- Remove everything you brought when you leave, unless someone has agreed to take responsibility for it.
- Report problems the day you notice them — see below.
Arrival & departure
Your residence determines which address to use. Enter it in your map app while you still have signal — the approach to Highlands loses reception, and a map with no signal is no map at all.
Cottages
265 North Sixth Street
Highlands, NC 28741
Howell, Wright, and Deacon Cottages — the Station's main address on North Sixth Street.
Directions to the StationValentine House & the Duplex
888 Horse Cove Road
Highlands, NC 28741
Valentine House and both Duplex apartments — a separate entrance on Horse Cove Road, near the Nature Center.
Directions to the StationBefore you leave home
Shop, then set the address
Groceries in the car and navigation loaded while you still have signal.
From 1:00 PM
Self check-in
Arriving early? Park and walk the Botanical Gardens or visit the Nature Center until your room is ready.
First hour
Claim a shelf
Label your food, sort out refrigerator space with your housemates, and say hello to the house.
Departure day · by noon
Check out
Work through the departure checklist with your group, drop the keys in the designated classroom space, and safe travels down the mountain.
Something not working?
A dead burner, a shower that won't drain, a dripping faucet, a door that won't latch — send a maintenance request and it goes straight to our facilities staff. You'll get a confirmation right away and an email when it's fixed.
We would far rather fix a problem on Tuesday than hear about it in an end-of-season survey. Nobody should have a poor stay over something we didn't know about and could have put right while you were here.
Unsafe right now? Active leak, sparking outlet, gas smell, someone hurt — don't wait on the form. Call the Station office at 828-526-2602 (Option 2 outside business hours). In an emergency, call 911 first.
What happens next
- You send it. A confirmation lands in your inbox with a request number.
- Facilities gets it. Urgent items are flagged in the subject line so they rise to the top.
- It gets fixed. When the work is marked done, you're emailed — with a note if there's anything you should know.
Report it here without leaving this pageWhere it is, what's wrong, and how to reach you. A photo helps.
Highlands Biological Station
Maintenance request
Leaky faucet, dead outlet, a door that won’t latch, a trail step gone soft — tell us where it is and what’s wrong. It goes straight to Mike McMahan, and we’ll let you know when it’s fixed.
Make yourself at home on the whole campus
- The Botanical Gardens are open seven days a week, and the trails start at your door.
- Outdoor classrooms are available outside reserved class times.
- The fire pit is first-come, first-served — bring your own wood and leave it clean.
- Lab and classroom space can be arranged when you book; see on-site resources.
Ready to book?
Email us your dates and group size. Housing is available to HBS researchers, students, and invited guests only. Staff are at the Administration Building during business hours, or call 828.526.2602.