//
Photo: Gary Stevens from Asheville NC, CC BY 2.0 via Wikimedia Commons
Features many waterfalls including ones made famous from The Last of the Mohicans and 2012's The Hunger Games.
DuPont State Recreational Forest, commonly known as DuPont Forest, is a 12,500-acre (5,100 ha) state forest, located in Henderson and Transylvania counties of North Carolina. The name originates from the fact that the DuPont company arranged the sale of the original tract to the state. Adjacent tracts have since been purchased and added to the state forest. Portions of the forest formerly contained a manufacturing facility for the production of X-ray film. The forest was used to shoot scenes from the 1992 film The Last of the Mohicans as well as the 2012 box office hit The Hunger Games. On February 12, 2019, the forest added 402 acres (163 ha) from Conserving Carolina, part of a section called the Continental Divide Tract that connects with other public lands. 314 acres (127 ha) was added to the forest in 2019.
© OpenStreetMap contributors
With easy access about 8 mi from town, in Pisgah National Forest on US 276.
About 5 mi further up US 276 from Looking Glass Falls, is the most visited natural attraction in WNC with thousands of "daredevils" sliding approximately 100 ft into an icy mountain pool.
The largest private lake in NC, and the Sapphire area are in the western portion of the county.
It has plunging waterfalls, rugged river gorges, and sheer rock precipices. Great opportunities for backpacking and horseback riding. This section of the Blue Ridge Escarpment spans over 8,000 acres of temperate rainforest and hosts extraordinary biodiversity. The park has 26 waterfalls, the northern shore of Lake Jocassee, and a portion of the 70-mile Foothills Trail.