The Tsali Recreation Area is open year-round, and the Tsali Campground is open from mid-April to the end of October. READ MORE: The 52 Best Hikes in North Carolina for the 52 Hikes Challenge Great Smoky Mountains viewed from Tsali Area near Almond NC, photo via Canva 4. The Cherohala Skyline is a couple of miles away, the Avery Branch Boat Ramp is a little over one mile, and the Cheoah Point Recreation Area is less than 10 miles away. The big draw for staying at Horse Cove is that it’s within walking distance of the Joyce Kilmer Memorial Forest. However, it is located near the lake for bathing, and there’s a creek for purifying fresh drinking water. Horse Cove Campground currently has some campsites open.īut due to a long-term water system issue, it’s into more of a primitive site, with a vault toilet and no running water. READ MORE: The Ultimate Pisgah National Forest Camping Guide Upper Loop at Joyce Kilmer, photo by Emma Gallagher 3. The Cheoah Point Campground is located within 10 miles of the Joyce Kilmer Memorial Forest and Cherohala Skyline. There’s also the Cheoah Trail, an easy 2.5-mile hike. The Cheoah Point Recreation Area has a beach, a nice picnic shelter, and a boat ramp. Many of the campsites here have views of the lake, and the Cheoah Point Recreation Area is within walking distance of the campground. Cheoah Point CampgroundĬheoah Point is a very convenient spot for campers looking to enjoy the Nantahala’s Santeetlah Lake. READ MORE: The 15 Best Things to Do in Cherokee NC & Qualla Boundary Lake Santeetlah, photo by anoldent is licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0 2. Nonetheless, Cable Cove is still listed on the National Forest Service website as a campground. There’s also an easy hiking trail, Cable Cove Nature Trail (1 mile), and a largely abandoned trail, the Cable Gap Trail, which may be impassible these days due to downed trees. The area still offers lake and pond fishing. It’s been shut down for a while now due to aging facilities. Located less than five miles from the Fontana Dam, Cable Cove is more of a boat launch than a campground these days. READ MORE: The 10 Hiking Essentials Packing List for the Blue Ridge Mountains Cheoah Point Beach, photo by Emma Gallagher 1. The Cherohala Skyline is a great road trip for taking in vistas of the forest, and the Joyce Kilmer Memorial Forest is one of the few spots in the east to see true old-growth forest that survived the logging era. The Appalachian Trail in North Carolina passes through this district, and is part of some 300 miles of Cheoah trail systems for Nantahala National Forest hiking. Included in this section is the Cheoah Point Recreation Area, which has a designated swimming area on Santeetlah Lake.
The Cheoah Ranger District covers around 120,000 acres in the Graham and Swain counties of NC.
Hurricane Creek Horse & Primitive Campgroundġ070 Massey Branch Road, Robbinsville, NC 28771.READ MORE: The 10 Best Campgrounds in the North Carolina MountainsĬamping in Nantahala National Forest Guide If you’re interested in a Nantahala camping trip, read on for our guide to an array of options from which to choose, from primitive backcountry camping to car camping and RV hookups. The Nantahala National Forest features around 600 miles of hiking trails, many of which are also open to mountain biking and horseback riding.Ĭamping in Nantahala National Forest is also a huge part of the draw, as are water-based activities such as fishing, boating, and special swimming beachesĪnd we haven’t even gotten into the amazing collection of waterfalls you’ll find in the forest!
The wilderness of Nantahala, North Carolina, is replete with clean mountain creeks, early 20th-century lakes and reservoirs, and designated recreation areas.
It’s bigger than the more famous Pisgah National Forest, and slightly bigger than Great Smoky Mountains National Park!Įstablished in 1920, the forest is split into three ranger districts: Cheoah (the Cherokee word for “otter”), Nantahala (“land of the noonday sun”), and Tusquittee (“where the water dogs laugh”). The Nantahala National Forest is the largest national forest in the state of North Carolin a. Occupying a huge swath of North Carolina just south of Bryson City, the Nantahala National Forest encompasses over a half-million acres of wilderness, with elevations ranging from 1,200 to more than 5,000 feet.
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