Camping at Lake Santeetlah
Jul 21st, 2009 by Admin 1
Nearest Town: Robbinsville, NC
Directions: From Murphy, NC take Hwy 74 to Topton. Take Left onto Hwy 129 and follow through Robbinsville. Take Left onto Joyce Kilmer Rd/Santeetlah Dam Rd, take right onto Joyce Kilmer Rd and follow for roughly 5 miles. Camp in designated areas.
Fee: Free
Site Amenities: Table, lantern post, fire ring
We usually camp at Horse Cove when we head up to Lake Santeetlah, but every now and then we are fortunate enough to score one of the sights along the lakeside just outside of Horse Cove, and last week was one of those times. Usually these sights are taken by squatters who move in and never seem to leave, but we went Sunday afternoon after the weekenders cleared out and got one of the best sites. As we have mentioned in earlier posts, this is one of our favorite areas because the lake itself is amazing, but there’s also great hiking and such natural beauty all around the area.
We spent 6 days there and had great weather during the day and survived a couple of nasty thunderstorms at night. We did a little hiking at Joyce Kilmer Memorial Forest but spent more time swimming and kayaking.
If you are not familiar with the area, the lake is fairly large, allows motorboats, and has a lot of houses on it, but most of the shoreline is US Forest Service land. Because of this it maintains a lot of its natural beauty and affords some really great views from all over the lake. I know these pictures won’t do it justice, but I hope they give some idea of what it’s like.
Thanks for your posting, it confirmed by decision to stay here in a few weeks. Where are some places to swim in and around the lake here? Are kayaks available for rent? Is Robbsinville an ok place for finding food/firewood? Do you know of a good place to find topo maps? How do you access the sites around the lake? Feel free to email me if you can. Thanks!
Hey Joseph,
Robbinsville is a typical small town with basic conveniences, some fast food, a few local non-chain restaurants. Firewood is available at the Ingles in town or there’s a place by the lake on Hwy 129 on the right if you’re headed out of town that has self serve firewood , or sometimes there’s a guy on the side of Santeetlah Dam Rd.
We got our topo map of Joyce Kilmer at REI.com
As far as the access to the lake sites, they are along Joyce Kilmer Rd and you can get to it from Hwy 129 or the Cherohala Skyway. Follow signs to Joyce Kilmer Memorial from 129, or take a right in front of the memorial onto Joyce KIlmer Rd.
As far as swimming, if you don’t get a lake site Cheoh Point is the public beach there off of Santeetlah Dam Rd, and it’s beautiful (for a public beach) if it’s not too crowded. Great views of the forest! There are signs around the area that will point you in the right direction.
As far as kayak rental, we have yet to find an outfitter (weird) but we have our own so we haven’t tried that hard.
If you can not get a lake site, camp at Horse Cove!!! It’s way better than Cheoah Point or Rattler Ford.
Good luck, and let us know how you like it!
Sorry, I meant take a right off of Cherohala Skyway in front of the memorial.
what a great place! wish i could have stayed longer.
we have also enjoyed L San. but have been extremely annoyed at the “squatters”. there rules but evidently difficult to enforce. contact me. geo
Jeff,
Yep, its always a bummer when we have to pack up and leave.
Geo Von-Net,
Yeah, I’m actually not sure if its the standard two week rule, I’d have to check. Its definitely a nuisance, especially if your waiting for a lake site and they never leave. Can get some brutal wind on the lake some times though, ya know? Every had that happen?