Lake Santeetlah, NC

Lake Santeetlah is a town in Graham County, North Carolina, United States, 6 miles northwest of Robbinsville on a peninsula surrounded by Lake Santeetlah—which in turn is largely surrounded by Nantahala National Forest. The 2020 census counted 38 residents. The town was organized in 1989 as "Santeetlah"; in 1999, it changed its name to "Lake Santeetlah". The area known as "Santeetlah" along the Cheoah River was sparsely settled, and in any case, the river valley was flooded after Santeetlah Dam was completed in 1928. Santeetlah Lake and the Cheoah District of the Nantahala National Forest which surrounds it provide exceptional recreational opportunities. The lake has a variety of fish including smallmouth bass, largemouth bass, walleye, crappie, bream, and lake trout.

In Lake Santeetlah, history and present-day settings sit close enough to belong to the same local picture. The map tells the story in Lake Santeetlah, where earlier chapters remain visible in current streets, buildings, and gathering places. In 1939, the U.S. Forest Service purchased from Carolina Aluminum Company the land now occupied by Lake Santeetlah. Lake Santeetlah is located in central Graham County on a peninsula on the northern side of Lake Santeetlah, a reservoir on the Cheoah River, a northward-flowing tributary of the Little Tennessee River. U.S. Route 129 passes just north of the town, leading southeast 6 miles to Robbinsville, the county seat, and northwest 9 miles to Tapoco at the Little Tennessee River.