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Nantahala North Carolina Map

Explore Nantahala, North Carolina, with this interactive street and satellite map.

This page also offers TOPO MAPS — the official USGS topographic sheets — plus USGS aerial imagery, a labelled USNG grid overlay, a distance and bearing tool, and a GPS grid-reference readout. See How to Use This Map below.

Interactive Map of Nantahala, North Carolina

How to Use This Nantahala, North Carolina Map

This interactive map shows the street layout and satellite imagery for Nantahala, North Carolina. Use the Map and Satellite buttons above to switch between street map and aerial imagery views. Use the + and − buttons to zoom in or out, or scroll your mouse wheel while holding the Control key to zoom. On a touchscreen, use a two-finger pinch gesture. Drag the map to pan to any area of North Carolina or beyond.

Click ⛶ Fullscreen to expand the map to fill your screen. To return to the normal page view, press the Escape key, click the ✕ Exit Fullscreen button that appears above the map, or on a mobile device tap the back button (Android) or the close icon (iOS).

TOPO MAPS — NEW. Click the green 🔍 Search Maps button below the map to open a second map with a Base map row offering three choices. OSM is the standard OpenStreetMap street map. Topo shows the official USGS topographic maps from The National Map — contours, hydrography, land cover and shaded relief, the same mapping used for hiking, hunting and back-country navigation in the Adirondacks, the Catskills and the Finger Lakes. Imagery shows USGS aerial photography, mostly 1-metre NAIP. The search box finds any US town, county or landmark by name, so you are not limited to Nantahala.

Reading the map like a paper quad. Click Grid to overlay the U.S. National Grid (USNG), labelled along the edges exactly as a printed topographic sheet is — at normal zoom the squares are one kilometre across, so you can read a six-figure grid reference by eye and judge distance directly off the map. Click Measure, then tap two points, to get the distance between them together with the grid bearing in degrees and mils, the true bearing, and the magnetic bearing to set on a compass.

Click 📍 My position to take a single GPS reading from your device. It marks where you are and reports your position as a USNG grid reference as well as plain latitude and longitude — USNG being the format FEMA and US search and rescue teams work from — with a Copy position button so you can paste it straight into a text message. It takes one reading and stops, rather than tracking continuously, to conserve your battery. Note that map tiles need cell coverage, but a GPS reading does not — your coordinates stay correct even where the map itself cannot load.

City	Nantahala
State	North Carolina (NC)
County	Swain County
Country	United States of America
Timezone	Eastern Time (America/New_York)

Latitude	35.288147
Longitude	-83.666558
Population	480
Density	8.0 /km²
Incorporated	N/A
ZIP Codes	28713, 28781
Area Code	828
County Seat	Bryson City

🌦 Goto Nantahala Weather Page: Nantahala, North Carolina — Weather Warnings, Forecast, Radar, Satellite & Current Conditions

About Nantahala, North Carolina

Nantahala is a locality in Swain County, North Carolina, United States. It is a small community with a population of 480. The population density is 8.0 people per km². Nantahala is located at 35.2881°N, 83.6666°W. It observes the Eastern Time (America/New_York) timezone. ZIP codes: 28713, 28781.

Nantahala defines a rugged corridor where the earth rises in steep, verdant pleats to meet a canopy of deep-rooted hardwoods. It lies 28.2 miles west-southwest of Cherokee Indian Reservation, NC (from Cherokee Indian Reservation, NC: bearing 241°T), and is situated 17.7 miles west-northwest of Franklin. The Nantahala River serves as the lifeblood of this terrain, carving a path through the landscape with a persistent, cold clarity that dictates the pace of the surrounding wilderness. Only a mile away, the quiet basin of Queens Creek Lake reflects the shifting slate-gray skies, while the hidden rush of Queens Falls provides a constant, percussive backdrop to the stillness. Beyond the immediate canopy, the silhouettes of the Great Smoky Mountains haunt the far horizon, casting long, bruised shadows over the timbered ridges that define the geography of the Nantahala National Forest.

Nantahala carries a legacy etched in the labor of those who turned the steep soil and harvested the timber, building an economy that has shifted from the grit of early industry to a quiet reliance on the land’s natural endurance. The local character is tempered by the isolation of the high terrain, where the echoes of mountain ballads still seem to linger in the cool, damp air near the Wesser Creek Trail. While the Flat Fields provide a rare, brief respite from the incline, the surrounding slopes remain the true masters of the region, dictating a life lived in accordance with the seasons rather than the clock. Here, the hum of daily existence is measured by the changing light on the forest floor and the steady, unyielding flow of the water toward the lowlands.

Nearby Outdoor Places

Nantahala National Forest (National Forest) — 0.0 mi, 264° W · 533k acres
Mainspring Conservation Trust - Simp Gap Preserve (Conservation Area) — 3.9 mi, 318° NW
Needmore Game Land (State Conservation Area) — 7.4 mi, 065° NE
Graham County Historical Association (Museum) — 8.3 mi, 287° W
Junaluska Memorial (Monument) — 8.3 mi, 285° W
Great Smoky Mountains National Park (National Park) — 9.6 mi, 005° N · 521k acres
Town of Andrews Open Space (Local Conservation Area) — 9.9 mi, 235° SW
Flat Branch boat launch (Attraction) — 12.3 mi, 032° NE
Lookout Rock (Viewpoint) — 13.2 mi, 315° NW
Too-Cowee;ᎧᏫᏱ (Historic Ruins) — 14.0 mi, 096° E
Snowbird Wilderness Study Area (Wilderness Study Area) — 14.7 mi, 263° W · 8,491 acres
Cowee School Arts & Heritage Center (Arts Centre) — 14.8 mi, 098° E
Joyce Kilmer-Slickrock Wilderness (Wilderness Area) — 15.0 mi, 290° W · 19k acres
Joyce Kilmer Memorial Forest (Attraction) — 15.7 mi, 288° W
Swain County War Dead Memorial (Monument) — 15.8 mi, 052° NE
Swain County Visitor Center and Heritage Museum (Museum) — 15.8 mi, 052° NE
Wasilik Poplar (Attraction) — 15.8 mi, 148° SE
Southern Nantahala Wilderness (Wilderness Area) — 17.1 mi, 154° SE · 24k acres
Tom Branch Falls (Attraction) — 18.2 mi, 047° NE
Kituwa;ᎩᏚᏩ (Historic Ruins) — 18.2 mi, 055° NE
Foothills Wildlife Management Area (State Conservation Area) — 19.2 mi, 312° NW
Cherokee National Forest (National Forest) — 20.3 mi, 305° NW · 662k acres
Oconaluftee Indian Village (Museum) — 23.7 mi, 055° NE
Nimrod Jarett Smith (Monument) — 23.8 mi, 056° NE
Selu Statue (Public Artwork) — 23.9 mi, 058° NE
Mountainside Theatre (Theatre) — 24.0 mi, 055° NE
Mountain Farm Museum (Museum) — 25.6 mi, 053° NE
Freedom Pavilion (Gallery) — 25.7 mi, 077° E
Overflow Wilderness Study Area (Wilderness Study Area) — 27.8 mi, 131° SE · 3,379 acres
Chattooga, North Carolina, South Carolina And Georgia Wild and Scenic River (Wild & Scenic River) — 32.9 mi, 131° SE · 17k acres

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