According to the United States Census Bureau, the town of Lake Santeetlah has a total area of 0.19 square miles (0.5 km2), all land.

[8] The father of Lake Santeetlah was Kenneth S. Keyes, Sr. (1896–1995), a native of Detroit, who became an extremely successful real estate dealer in Miami, heading over fifty corporations that operated hotels, office buildings and other realty enterprises in Florida, New York, and Canada.

Nevertheless, although he hired a Miami architectural firm to draw the plans, Keyes never built, and in 1958, he sold the undeveloped property to another Florida land developer, who transferred it again in 1961.

[10] In the early 1960s, a new corporation, Smoky Mountain Resorts, built a lodge and some cabins, and the first landowners began to build on the north shore of the peninsula.

The lodge, with its two faux totem poles, became "the heartbeat of Thunderbird Mountain Resort" with activities that included square dancing, bingo, movies, and church services, as well as a place "to gather together when the mail was delivered.

"[11] Although roads were graded and paved and a water system installed, "Thunderbird Mountain Club Resort", as the development was first called, was "always short of capital.

The insurance company did not repair the water system or provide other services specified by the restrictive covenants, and many property owners stopped paying their fees.

Before being demolished, the lodge, which had operated only sporadically during the preceding decades, was recycled into the sales office of an upscale lake-front development called "Santeetlah Lakeside"; and million-dollar property transfers occurred for the first time.

There are more than fifty primitive campsites scattered around the lake that include a picnic table and fire ring; they have no water or toilets but also require neither permits nor fees.

Approximately a mile north of the town is Cheoah Point Recreation Area, which has developed swimming, camping, and picnicking facilities as well as a boat ramp.

[23] The nearby Cheoah River is noted for its Class IV and V whitewater rapids, available for use approximately seventeen days a year depending on the water-release schedule from Santeetlah Dam.

[citation needed] Lake Santeetlah adjoins a portion of U.S. 129 called the Tail of the Dragon, a road frequently used for recreational purposes by motorcycle and sports car enthusiasts because of its purported 318 curves in 11 miles (18 km).