Clay County combines extensive forestland with Lake Chatuge and themes related to history, Cherokee culture and traditional crafts. When planning your trip, you can choose different areas of focus: activities on the water, trails through open forests, historic sites, or classes and events.
Forests, Lake and Trails
About 87 percent of Clay County’s 213 square miles are forested. Forested mountains define the county’s northern and eastern boundaries. Nantahala National Forest covers 85 percent of Clay County’s forestland and was established in 1920. These facts give the landscape a distinct forest character without limiting nature experiences to a single trail.
Lake Chatuge covers 7,200 acres and has 133 miles of shoreline. One half lies in North Carolina, the other in Georgia. Activities at the lake include boating, camping, swimming, fishing, picnicking and lakeside walks; some facilities may have seasonal restrictions. Jackrabbit Mountain Recreation Area provides access to Lake Chatuge for motorized boats. Details of lake access may vary seasonally.
For a loop through open forests, Jackrabbit Mountain Trail is one option: it is 2.4 miles long, rated easy and offers views of Lake Chatuge. Nearby, Leatherwood Loop and the Fires Creek Trails also offer a one-mile paved trail and a 0.7-mile hike around Leatherwood Falls. The different lengths can help you choose a trail without specifying a hiking time. In the Tusquitee Ranger District, which spans Clay and Cherokee Counties, the Hiwassee River offers opportunities for canoeing.
Cherokee History and Culture
The Old Jail Museum is located in Clay County’s former jail, built in 1912. Fort Hembree served as a gathering point for Cherokee people from the northern and central parts of what is now Clay County. These two historic connections offer insight into different aspects of county history without combining them into a single narrative.
The Cherokee Homestead Exhibit offers a free, self-guided tour featuring a summer house, a winter house and a food storage building. The outdoor site includes reconstructed buildings from a Cherokee village dating to the 17th and 18th centuries. The Cherokee Cultural Center at Moss Memorial Library in downtown Hayesville displays Cherokee artifacts, along with books and historical maps about Cherokee history and culture.
At the Cherokee Botanical Sanctuary, informational signs cover traditional uses of plants as medicine, food and materials for household items and weapons. Visitors interested in plant knowledge will find a different perspective here than at the historic buildings or the library collections.
Classes, Events and Local Culture
John C. Campbell Folk School offers weeklong and weekend classes for adults throughout the year. Topics range from traditional and contemporary crafts to art, music and dance, as well as cooking, gardening, nature studies, photography and writing. The 300-acre campus spans Cherokee County and Clay County. This gives you a broad range of classes to choose from when planning your trip, with each topic offering its own cultural or practical focus.
John C. Campbell Folk School’s Annual Fall Festival was established in 1974 and takes place every year on the first full weekend in October. The Cherokee Heritage Festival takes place annually on the third Saturday in September and includes demonstrations of traditional Cherokee crafts. These include authentic Cherokee dishes such as fry bread with various toppings. If you’d like to plan your trip around a festival, check the dates in advance.
The Beal Center hosts weddings, family reunions, birthday parties, fundraisers, meetings and concerts. The Peacock Performing Arts Center in Hayesville is a center of community and cultural life, offering entertainment to residents of western North Carolina and northern Georgia.
Plan Your Accommodation Around Your Travel Priorities
Plan the rest of your trip around the experiences you actually want to make time for.
Discover More Destinations
Discover more destinations: Hayesville, Vance, Halifax, Iredell, Currituck County, Cumberland, Avery County, Mitchell County.
For the main travel overview: North Carolina.
