Nantahala River

The Nantahala River is located in western North Carolina within the Nantahala National Forest, and near the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. The river begins near the border of Georgia and North Carolina and it flows into the Little Tennessee River at Fontana Lake, a reservoir formed behind Fontana Dam. This dam was begun in 1941 and completed in November 1944 by the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) for the World War II Manhattan Project (nuclear bomb). 

Lake Fontana is 480 feet high and a half mile long at its widest part. It’s the tallest dam east of the Rockies. Due to the dam’s remote location, workers were housed in a village built on site with dormitories, houses, and basic amenities. Some buildings remain today as part of Fontana Village Resort.

The word Nantahala is Cherokee and means "Land of the Noonday Sun." The river runs through a narrow and steep gorge where in some areas the sun reaches the valley floor only during the middle of the day. During the colonial era, Cherokee towns along the Nantahala, upper Hiwassee River, and Valley River in what is now North Carolina were known as the Valley Towns. . In 1839 the trail beside the river became known as the Trail of Tears as the Cherokee people were forcibly removed from their homelands in this region to the Indian Territory west of the Mississippi River. 

This river is popular with whitewater rafters, canoeists, and kayaker, drawing thousands of paddlers annually running the river. The Nantahala is one of the most popular rivers in the southeastern United States for paddlers of all skill levels.

The Nantahala is also a popular destination for fly fishing as it is widely regarded as one of the premier destinations for trout fishing in the Eastern United States..