Murphy is a town in western North Carolina, located in Cherokee County (North Carolina).

Get in

Murphy is roughly centrally located between Chattanooga, Tennessee and Asheville, North Carolina on US Hwy 64, which turns south and east at Murphy and goes through Hayesville on its way to Franklin and places east. Proceeding east along Hwy 19/74 takes your through Andrews, the Nantahala Gorge, and on to Asheville.

It sounds complicated, but it isn't. The four-lane highway running east and west through Murphy takes you from Chattanooga to Asheville (or vice-versa) with no turns. It's just the numbers on the road that change.

Murphy is also located about 100 miles or so from Knoxville, Tennessee; Greenville, South Carolina; and Atlanta, Georgia. Travel to these towns is a bit more complicated because of the lack of highways.

The roads in and out of Murphy are generally well-maintained and are of good quality. In the winter, it may take a few hours or a day to clear the roads for travel after a snow-storm, but it rarely takes much longer.

There is a small airport near Andrews, North Carolina (about 15 miles) that is being expanded to handle commuter jets and is perfectly suited to smaller private planes.

Activities

About 15 miles south of Murphy is the world-famous John C. Campbell Folk School, where thousands of people have learned to make hand-crafted arts and crafts. Their dance and music classes are equally as popular. The Folk School has a Fall Festival the first weekend in October every year and thousands of people come to purchase arts and crafts and listen to the music. This is a great way to buy those hard-to-find gifts for birthdays, anniversaries, and Christmas.

There are many rivers and lakes in our area that are popular for boating, swimming and fishing. Other outdoor sports and recreation are popular, as well.

Murphy is about an hour's drive to popular tourist destinations such as Cherokee, NC, home of the Cherokee Indians, and the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, which sits on the Tennessee/North Carolina border.

West of Murphy is the Ocoee River, a great whitewater rafting, kayaking, and canoeing destination for many people. It was the home of the watersports competitions during the Atlanta Olympics.

East of Murphy is the Nantahala River, another great river for rafting, kayaking and canoeing. It is easier than the Ocoee and there are stretches where you can relax and enjoy the scenery and the friends making the trip with you. You'll encounter some whitewater -- just enough to make it exciting. This is an outstanding trip for whitewater beginners.