Mount Mitchell State Park is a North Carolina state park in

Yancey County, North Carolina Yancey County is a county located in the U.S. state of North Carolina. As of the 2020 census, the population was 18,470. Its county seat is Burnsville. This land was inhabited by the Cherokee prior to European settlement, as was much of the ...

in the United States. Established in 1915 by the state legislature, it became the first state park of

North Carolina North Carolina () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States. The state is the 28th largest and 9th-most populous of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, Georgia and ...

. By doing so, it also established the North Carolina State Parks System within the same bill. MountMitchellRoadAscentElevationPlot

Located at the end of NC 128 off the

Blue Ridge Parkway The Blue Ridge Parkway is a National Parkway and All-American Road in the United States, noted for its scenic beauty. The parkway, which is America's longest linear park, runs for through 29 Virginia and North Carolina counties, linking Shenan ...

near Burnsville, North Carolina, it includes the peak of

Mount Mitchell Mount Mitchell, known in Cherokee as Attakulla, is the highest peak of the Appalachian Mountains and the highest peak in mainland eastern North America. It is located near Burnsville in Yancey County, North Carolina in the Black Mountain sub ...

, the highest peak east of the

Mississippi River The Mississippi River is the second-longest river and chief river of the second-largest drainage system in North America, second only to the Hudson Bay drainage system. From its traditional source of Lake Itasca in northern Minnesota, it fl ...

. From the parking lot, a steep paved path leads visitors to the summit and a raised observation platform with 360 degree views. The grave of Elisha Mitchell, the professor who first noted the mountain's height, is located at the base of the observation platform. The old observation tower was torn down in early October 2006. The trail leading to the summit has been paved, and a new observation platform was constructed and opened to the public in January 2009. An exhibit hall is open seasonally at the summit with information about the mountain's natural, cultural and historical heritage. The park operates a restaurant and a small tent camping sites seasonally. The buildings were built in the 1950s and renovation is planned. Most visitors come between May and November because the only access is the

but Kevin Bischof, who became superintendent late in 2018, hopes to change that. The park is staffed year-round but most people would not be able to reach the park during the worst weather conditions. The park had 398,000 visitors in 2017. In addition to Mount Mitchell itself, the park encompasses several other peaks which top out at over in elevation, including Mount Hallback, Mount Craig (just shy of Mount Mitchell in elevation and the second highest peak east of the

), Big Tom and Balsam Cone. Trails lead to all these summits save Mount Hallback, and their exploration takes visitors away from the crowds on Mount Mitchell but to places similarly spectacular. About of trails exist within the park in all. Another popular destination reachable by trail within the park is Camp Alice, at an elevation of 5800 ft (1767.84 m) south of the summit of Mount Mitchell. This historic site is the location of a logging and, later, Civilian Conservation Corps tourist camp at the terminus of the old Mount Mitchell toll road. Lower Creek flows across the main trail at this point and it is one of the highest elevation perennial streams in the Appalachians, flowing through the Spruce-Fir forest. Openings here in the forest surrounded by evergreens resemble such openings near treeline in higher mountain ranges. The park also serves as the finish line for The Assault on Mount Mitchell and the midpoint for the Mount Mitchell Challenge ultramarathon.

Nearby state parks

The following state parks and state forests are within of Mount Mitchell State Park: : Chimney Rock State Park :

Grandfather Mountain State Park Grandfather Mountain is a mountain, a non-profit attraction, and a North Carolina state park near Linville, North Carolina. At 5,946 feet (1,812 m), it is the highest peak on the eastern escarpment of the Blue Ridge Mountains, one of the major ch ...

: Lake James State Park : Lamar Alexander Rocky Fork State Park,

Tennessee Tennessee ( , ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked state in the Southeastern region of the United States. Tennessee is the 36th-largest by area and the 15th-most populous of the 50 states. It is bordered by Kentucky to th ...

: Pisgah View State Park : Roan Mountain State Park, Tennessee : South Mountains State Park

References

External links

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Detailed information about the park

{{authority control State parks of North Carolina State parks of the Appalachians Blue Ridge Mountains Protected areas of Yancey County, North Carolina Park, Mount Mitchell Protected areas established in 1915 Museums in Yancey County, North Carolina Natural history museums in North Carolina Open-air museums in North Carolina Civilian Conservation Corps in North Carolina 1915 establishments in North Carolina National Natural Landmarks in North Carolina

Nearby state parks

See also

References

External links