Skip to content
Byway
Blue Ridge ParkwayAll lookouts
Lookout · Blue Ridge Parkway

Richland Balsam Overlook - Highest Point on the Parkway

OpenStreetMap
Looking south from Richland Balsam Overlook - Highest Point on the Parkway. Terrain and imagery at true elevation.
Overview · Assembled from verified data

Richland Balsam Overlook sits at 6,047 feet on the Blue Ridge Parkway, facing south with the land dropping 539 feet within 600 meters of the pullout. From this point, Cowee Mountains Overlook (MP 430.7) is visible to the south-southeast at 0.6 miles, sitting at 5,995 feet, and Reinhart Knob rises to the southeast at 1.2 miles, reaching 6,103 feet. The overlook is positioned between Richland Balsam Overlook and Haywood Jackson Overlook along the route. Asheville lies 29.6 miles to the east-northeast, while Easley and Greenville are farther south, at 43.7 and 48.7 miles respectively. Daylight hours vary by season: near the June solstice, sunrise occurs at 06:18 and sunset at 20:51, while near the December solstice sunrise is at 07:38 and sunset at 17:24, with the equinoxes falling in between. Visitors planning a stop can use these sightline distances and elevations to gauge what will be visible depending on conditions and time of day.

Access
On the byway
Elevation
6,047 ft
View
South · 180°
Relief
539 ft drop
In view
2 named features
Photos · Real imagery only
Richland Balsam
NPS Photo / Morgan Bissell · Public domain (NPS) · NPS
Abies fraseri , Blue Ridge Parkway, near Cherokee, NC. 35°21'26"N 82°59'09"W, 1815 m altitude.
Gene from Aiken, SC, USA · CC BY 2.0 · source
Richland Balsam viewed from Cowee Mountain Overlook, Oct 2016
Thomson200 · CC0 · source
Richland Balsam Overlook
Thomson200 · CC0 · source
Richland Balsam Overlook in the rain. Rain probably from Hurricane Matthew
Thomson200 · CC0 · source
Cold Mountain viewed from Haywood-Jackson Overlook
Thomson200 · CC0 · source
In view · Named features

What you’re looking at

Named terrain inside the view from this overlook, nearest first.

  • Cowee mountains Overlook (MP 430.7)5,995 ftsouth-southeast · 0.6 mi
  • Reinhart Knob6,103 ftsoutheast · 1.2 mi
When to look · Sun at this latitude

Light

DateSunriseSunsetGolden hour
March equinox07:3719:4419:10
June solstice06:1820:5120:13
September equinox07:2119:3018:57
December solstice07:3817:2416:45

Local time (America/New_York). Computed for this exact position.

Getting there · Position and access

Where it is

  • Asheville29.6 mi east-northeast
  • Easley43.7 mi south-southeast
  • Greenville48.7 mi southeast
← Before it: Richland Balsam OverlookAfter it: Haywood Jackson Overlook →
Loading map…
Private beta · Free to join

Take the scenic way to Richland Balsam Overlook - Highest Point on the Parkway.

Byway plans around your taste, verified places, real weather and opening hours — then opens every leg in Google Maps with one tap.

Private beta · Free to join · No card · Invite when a spot opens

From the source · Verbatim

Richland Balsam Overlook: Highest Point on the Parkway, Milepost 431.4 · National Park Service

Take in the expansive views of the Nantahala National Forest from the highest point on the Parkway at Richland Balsam Overlook. Sitting at 6,053 feet above sea level, Richland Balsam is the highest point along the Blue Ridge Parkway motor road. Named for the red spruce and Fraser fir trees found here, known as the “he-balsam” and “she-balsam” respectively, this area features a forest type that resembles a Canadian wilderness. Since the late 1970s the forest has been affected by the balsam woolly adelgid, an invasive pest that has been killing Fraser fir trees. Check the conditions of the area before you visit.

Read it at National Park Service →
Common questions

How high is Richland Balsam Overlook - Highest Point on the Parkway?

Richland Balsam Overlook - Highest Point on the Parkway sits at about 6,047 feet (1,843 m).

What can you see from Richland Balsam Overlook - Highest Point on the Parkway?

From Richland Balsam Overlook - Highest Point on the Parkway: Cowee mountains Overlook (MP 430.7) (SSE, 0.6 mi); Reinhart Knob (SE, 1.2 mi).

What is the nearest town to Richland Balsam Overlook - Highest Point on the Parkway?

Asheville, 30 miles ENE of Richland Balsam Overlook - Highest Point on the Parkway.

What is the next lookout after Richland Balsam Overlook - Highest Point on the Parkway?

Haywood Jackson Overlook is the next surfaced lookout along the same route after Richland Balsam Overlook - Highest Point on the Parkway.

Drive to Richland Balsam Overlook - Highest Point on the Parkway with Byway

Byway plans the scenic way there — real places along Blue Ridge Parkway, real weather, zero hallucinations — and hands the turns to the navigation you already use.

Plan a drive to this lookout →Plan this with Byway AI
On these byways · Drive past it

Byways with this lookout

Day trips start here

Community · From people who stood here

Locals make it Verified.

Richland Balsam Overlook - Highest Point on the Parkway — confirmed, rated, and photographed by people who actually pulled over. A local confirmation is what upgrades a lookout from Discovered to Verified. Zero hallucinations.

Confirmed by locals

No local confirmations yet. Stood here? Yours is the one that upgrades this lookout to Verified.

Ratings

No ratings yet. Stood at this lookout? Be the first to rate it.

No written reviews yet.

Field notes

No field notes yet. Know the gate hours or the best pull-in? Leave the note you wish you'd had.

Photos

No photos yet.

Sign in to confirm this lookout, rate it, add photos, and leave field notes.

Nearby · Same byway

More lookouts on Blue Ridge Parkway

Nearby · The Atlas

Named places near this lookout