If you’ve been down Amboy Road lately, you’ve surely noticed the striking new structures of the Wrong Way River Lodge & Cabins, a new outdoor adventure lodging business in WNC. We talked to Shelton Steele, one of the founders, about the business and about being a new OBA member.

Wrong Way looks amazing! Give us some background info and let us in on your plans for the future.

Wrong Way River Lodge & Cabins is an urban cabin campground right on the French Broad River Greenway in West Asheville, NC — slated to open late August 2022. Joe & I are former river guides, and we’re finally realizing the dream of working on the French Broad River. This is our grown up version of being river guides. We’re wrapping up construction on sixteen cabins and a communal River Lodge. The Lodge will anchor the property as a place to eat, drink, gather, and shop.

The core mission of Wrong Way is to connect guests with the transformational qualities of the outdoors through comfortable accommodations, convenient access, inspiring experiences, and a little local culture. Wrong Way offers guests the chance to get outside of the home (and their heads) and rediscover what matters.

Why did Wrong Way River Lodge & Cabins choose to join the Outdoor Business Alliance?

How could we not be a part of OBA? As an outdoor focused lodging business, our goal is to share Asheville’s outdoor personality with our guests. Whether we’re putting guests on Hellbender paddle boards for helping them relax at Wrong Way in an ENO hammock, we definitely want to feature the gear that’s made right here in WNC.

Are you collaborating with any other OBA members?

Absolutely. Each cabin has an ENO hammock and a pair of Blue Ridge chairs. We’re also planning to feature OBA gear in our retail shop.

Why WNC? What makes this place, the place, that you folks chose to do business?

Joe & I are raising our families in WNC. This is home. There’s such a tremendous wealth of outdoor space and amenities right here in Asheville. Wrong Way celebrates Asheville’s outdoor roots. The French Broad flows right through our town, and we now have a well connected greenway system that runs along the river. We want to share all the wonderful outdoor elements of Asheville with our guests.