Cheoah Ranger District

This district is made up of 120,00 acres in Graham and Swain counties that adjoin four large reservoirs----Lake Fontana, Lake Santeetlah, Lake Cheoah and Calderwood Lake --- and a network of 25 miles of hiking trails, including a 27 mile section of the Appalachian Trail.  The Cheoah Ranger Station, adjacent to Lake Santeetlah on S.R. 1116 and 2 miles north of Robbinsville,  is built on the site of a Civilian Conservation Corps campsite and contains an interpretive trail and a fine overlook of the lake.
Sitting to the southwest of the Great Smoky Mountains Natonal Park, this part of the Nantalhala Forest is often overlooked by visitors, but this slightly off-the-beaten-track district provides some incredibly beautiful places and views.  First of all, there is the Joyce Kilmer Memorial Forest, which,  maintained in a primitive state, has one of the nation's most impressive remnants of old-growth forest.  The timber here was once owned by the Belton Lumber Company that started operations in the area in 1890, but went bankrupt.  Now the memorial forest is part of the 14,000-acre Joyce Kilmer-Slickrock Wilderness Area and contains magnificent examples of more than 100 species of trees, including yellow poplar, hemlock, sycamore, basswood, dogwood, beech and several species of oaks.  Many of them are hundreds of years old, and some are more than 20 feet in circumference and more than 100 feet high.  The area was set aside in 1936 as a memorial to Joyce Kilmer the soldier/poet and author of the poem "Trees", who was killed in France in World War I.
 The Joyce Kilmer National Receation Trail is an easy 2-mile loop that takes you past these giant trees, many felled by age or lightning strikes.  In some areas, the tree canopy is so thick that sunlight never reaches the ground.  You will also find a picnic area here and an outstanding variety of vines, ferns, and early spring wildflowers and shrubs, such as mountain laurels,  rhododendrons and flame azaleas.  Wildlife is abundant in this undistubed forest.  The adjoining Slickrock Wilderness Area, with 13,100 acres in North Carolina, contains 60 miles of hiking trails that meander along streams and climb high ridges. It is the home of bears, bobcats, and wild boars and has a number of dispersed, primitive, no-fee campsites.
For more comfortable sites such as picnic tables, restrooms, and water taps, there are two area campgounds.  One is a group camp not far from the memorial forest.  Horse Cove Campground has 17 units and is by a rushing mountain steam called Little Santeetlah Creek. The Rattler Ford Group Camp has four units that will accommodate up to 50 people per unit.  It offers a trout stream, horseshoe pits, a volleyball court and an area suitable for softball.  Reservation for groups need to be made three weeks in advance. To get to the Joyce Kilmer Memorial Forest, take US. 129 out of Robinsville to S.R. 1127 and follow the signs.  Both the Horse Cove and Rattler Ford campgrounds are off S.R. 1127.
 There are two forest recreation areas near Lake Fontana. The Tsali Recreation Area has 41 camping units with toilets and showers, a boat launching area and 18 miles of horse-back riding trails.  The Cable Cove Recreation Area also offers boating and hiking with boating access on Fontana Lake.  It is located 4 miles from Wotan Dam, the Appalachian Trail and the entrance to the Great Smoky Mountains National Park.  The area also has a mile-long nature loop trail that will help you identify the plants and trees growing along it.  There are historical features as well.  On Lake Santeeth, the Cheoah Point Recreation Area, has developed camping, picnicking,  fishing and boating facilities.  Nearby, the Wauchecha Bald Trail provides access to the AppalachianTrail.
Two great favorite wild palces in the Cheoah District are the Big Santeetlah Creek area and the 10,000 or so acres that encompass the headwaters of Big Snowbird Creek.  The latter was one of the last ares to be settled by whites in North Carolina, and it was here in 1836 that numbers of Cherokee Indians fled to escape exile to Oklahoma.Murphy North Carolina Your Mountain View Specialist Coldwell Banker High Country Realty               866-835-8500         866-835-8500 or               321-279-1049         321-279-1049 Jack Shingler.