The Nantahala Racing Club and Nantahala Outdoor Center announced they have been honored with the American Canoe Association’s 2025 “Event of the Year” award for hosting the 2025 Junior Olympics and Regional Teams Development Camp. 

Adults and youth ages 10 and up are welcome to kayak Wolf Lake with Jackson County Recreation.

The day will begin at 9 a.m. Aug. 7 by meeting up at the Cullowhee Recreation Center. 

It’s the week paddlers from across the state and even the nation look forward to all year; it’s also the week Swain County resident Tom Womble has been working toward for a half-year as the “boots on the ground,” planner. 

Evy Leibfarth may as well have been born on the river. Her parents met while working as raft guides on the Nantahala and had her on the water with them before she could even hold a paddle.

One of the greatest advantages of traveling the world is being reminded how similar we all are, regardless of culture, race, language or religion.

It’s not lost on Colin McBeath how unique and cherished the Nantahala Outdoor Center (NOC) is to locals and visitors alike. 

Lake Junaluska Outfitters summer activity passes are now available. The passes provide admission to the lakeside pool all summer long, as well as discounts on recreation, shopping and dining at Lake Junaluska.

The recurring deluge of heavy rains has brought paddlers out of hibernation and onto Western North Carolina rivers over the past few weeks.

The Nantahala Outdoor Center rose rapidly from a scrappy operation spawned by idealistic river rats in the 1970s to one of the largest and most renowned outfitters in the country. Now in its 40th year, NOC has struggled during the past decade to reconcile its founding philosophy — that of like-minded outdoors lovers carving out a living doing what they loved — with changing economic realities.