On the wild side in Graham

Go to this county if you want to be surrounded by unspoiled mountain beauty

What’s the attraction?

Graham County, one of North Carolina’s most western counties, is one of the very few counties in the state that is assured it will never be spoiled by development, since two-thirds of the county is National Forest, including Joyce Kilmer Memorial Forest, Slickrock Creek Wilderness Area, Snowbird Backcountry Area, Nantahala National Forest, and borders of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. The region is home to some of the highest and most remote mountains east of the Mississippi with elevations ranging from 1,100 to over 5,530 feet, covering 302 square miles.

The shoreline of Lake Santeetlah is more than 80% National Forest, insurance that it will be protected from development. Even on the busiest of summer weekends visitors can enjoy its solitude. The trout streams of Graham County have a national reputation for the quantity and ease of catching their fish.

For full article see Charlotte Observer