The Nantahala National Forest was established in 1920 under the Weeks Act which provided for the acquistion of National Forests to provide timber production and the regulation of flow in the navigatable streams. Sixty-eight percent of Graham County is located within the boundaries of the Nantahala National Forest.
The Indian word Nantahala means "land of the midday sun" - an appropriate name for a forest in which deep mountain gorges and valleys are illuminated only when the noon sun is directly overhead.
At 5,800 feet, the Appalachian summit of Lone Bald is the highest point in the forest. Cascading waterfalls and mad whitewater rivers give the forest a wild, untamed atmosphere heightened by primeval oaks, hemlocks, chestnuts, and poplars. Unique plant communities and several endangered species can be found in the rarely visited areas of the forest. The Appalachian Trail crosses the Nantahala Forest through Macon, Swain and finally Graham County.
Some of the nearby attractions in the National Forest include whitewater rafting on the Nantahala River, the virgin forest of the Joyce Kilmer Memorial Forest, mountain biking in the Tsali Recreational Area, and hiking the Joyce Kilmer / Slickrock Wilderness Areas.
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