Wafloy Mountain Retreat

In 1947, Floy Bell and her husband, W.A., both schoolteachers in Knoxville, bought a piece of mountain property outside Gatlinburg. They meant to build a Christian retreat that would rejuvenate, heal and strengthen youth and adults. After W.A.'s early death, Floy moved to the land and took up the work with even more intensity.

Through the 1960s, 70s and 80s the village filled in: a two-story youth lodge, a thirty-two room hotel at the top of the mountain facing Greenbrier Pinnacle, about twenty other housing and meeting buildings, a small 1950s-style motel and a chapel. The site says Wafloy has served as a Christian youth camp and adult retreat center since the 1950s, and that visitors have come from at least 43 countries. Floy managed the 100-acre campus until she was 95. In 2001 she handed it to her grandson and his wife.

In June 2013 they looked for a partner to carry on the Bells' vision and approached Corryton Church about taking over management and control. Since 2014 the property has been refurbished, with construction companies, contractors, an architectural designer and small businesses donating labor, materials and services. The pages say Wafloy again hosts almost 200 groups a year.

Today the campus covers 75 acres. Steiner-Bell Lodge has 32 rooms with private balconies, a dining room for 64 and an upstairs meeting room for 120, both with wood-burning fireplaces. Seven vintage motel rooms with knotty pine walls were renovated in 2020. The chapel in the woods seats up to 250, and the Sky Altar serves for outdoor ceremonies. Groups use disc golf, a pool, trails, kayaks and canoes, and the Great Smoky Mountains National Park is nearby.

Churches and private organizations book weekend or week-long retreats for youth, men, women, couples, singles and families. Weddings are also held here, and catering is available. During a stay the staff serve one group at a time. Tours are by appointment only.