Sylva has been the one of Western Carolina’s best-kept lifestyle secrets for 20 years, but the word’s getting out that the town belongs on the national map of outdoor living destinations. Mother Earth News, a national magazine focused on eco-friendly living, named Jackson County’s seat one of its “11 great places you’ve (maybe) never heard of” in its November 2009 edition.

“These places have a spirit of positivity and optimism, plus a proactive willingness to take matters into their own hands and make a better tomorrow — whatever the odds,” the article says.

Sylva was selected alongside other growing university towns like Walla Walla, Wash., Carbondale, Ill., and Norman, Okla., as a place that combines environmental responsibility, outdoor living, intellectual capital, and small town quality of life.

There’s nothing secret about the draw of the Smoky Mountains, but Sylva represents the confluence of natural beauty and rural idealism that is the basis for the coolest small town living experiences.

“While the wilderness is a compelling feature of the area, Sylva isn’t lost to civilization. Less than six miles from Western Carolina University and its 11,000 students, Sylva is as rich in culture as it is in beauty,” the Mother Earth News article reads.

No doubt about it, many of Sylva’s residents are drawn to the mountains by the views and the action provided by the Smoky Mountains, but they stay because the town has become a burgeoning center for environmentally friendly development and university-influenced cultural activities.

Town board member Sarah Graham embodies the town’s emerging identity. Raised in a Cincinnati suburb, Graham came to the area in college to work summers for a river outfitter. She later returned to start a family with her husband because she wanted to raise her children in the Smokies.

“We know our neighbors, and that’s an ideal scenario for raising kids,” Graham said. “Even if my children move away one day this will always be our home town.”

Graham thinks Sylva is just hitting its stride as a town that combines a long history and a forward thinking philosophy.

“I think there’s a ton of potential that we haven’t met yet,” Graham said. “That’s where my interest in government comes from — an interest in planning in the truest sense of the word.”

The pristine waters of the Tuckasegee Watershed are one of the principal natural draws in an area rich in opportunities for paddling and fly-fishing.

Roger Clapp, director of the Watershed Association of the Tuckasegee River, an environmental non-profit located in Sylva, said he has seen the town become a center for grassroots environmental advocacy.

“One thing about Sylva is it’s got a young, vibrant population that’s really interested in a clean environment,” Clapp said. “They’re active in our group and in other groups trying to make Sylva a great place to live.”

In addition to the water and wilderness that surround Sylva, Mother Earth News mentions the town’s thriving music and café scene, its local brewery, and its proximity to Western Carolina University as reasons the town isn’t just a one-trick pony.

City Lights Books in Sylva was one of the first cultural centers in the area and it has remained a stalwart in Sylva’s business community.

Owner Joyce Moore credits the town’s effort to revitalize its downtown in the mid-1990s for the success it enjoys today. Moore believes Sylva is ultimately a place focused on building a diverse community with the right balance of tourism and hometown commerce.

“We’ve always talked about Sylva as a real town,” Moore said. “We’ve tried to make it a place where a lot of people feel comfortable. I really do think it’s a positive sense of community that makes Sylva a special place.”

It’s hard to compare Sylva with Oakland, Calif., or Norman, Okla., but Jackson County’s jewel in the mountains is a place that blends the best aspects of present and past in creating a very real sense of home.