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Mount Kephart

Mount Kephart rises to 1,895 m in North Carolina. Kuwohi stands 2,025 m to the southwest, 7.7 miles off. The nearest named place is The Jumpoff, a cliff 0.2 miles away. Newfound Gap Road Byway passes 1.6 miles off.

The story

Mount Kephart is a mountain in the central Great Smoky Mountains, located in the Southeastern United States. The Appalachian Trail crosses the mountain's south slope, making it a destination for thru-hikers. The Jumpoff, a 1,000-foot (300 m) cliff on the northeast side of the mountain, has views of the central and eastern Smokies. A stand of Southern Appalachian spruce-fir forest coats the mountain's upper elevations. With an elevation of 6,217 ft, Mount Kephart is the 7th-highest mountain in Tennessee. Its topographic prominence is drastically reduced, however, by its close proximity to two higher neighbors, Kuwohi and Mount Le Conte. Like much of the Smokies crests, Mount Kephart lies on the Tennessee-North Carolina border, in Sevier County, Tennessee and Swain County, North Carolina. The mountain rises nearly 4,000 feet (1,200 m) above its northern base at Porters Flat, and approximately 3,400 feet (1,000 m) above its southern base along the Oconaluftee River headwaters. Newfound Gap, at just over 5,000 feet (1,500 m), divides Mount Kephart from Fork Ridge (Mt. Collins) to the west. The gap is traversed by U.S. Highway 441, the only paved road crossing the Great Smoky Mountains National Park from north to south.

From Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0.

Wikidata Q8524591, referenced by the OpenStreetMap record.

What the record says

Elevation
1895.27 m

How to reach it

Coordinates35.63091, -83.38964

Named places within 25 miles

Peaks
Waterfalls
  • Sweat Heifer Cascades: 1.0 mi
  • Taywa Creek Cascade: 4.0 mi
  • Cliff Branch Falls: 4.0 mi
  • Grotto Falls: 4.5 mi
  • Trickling Falls: 4.5 mi
Attractions
  • Arch Rock: 2.8 mi
  • Hellbender: 8.4 mi
  • Birdventure: 8.4 mi
  • Rail Runner: 8.5 mi
  • Ripley's Super Fun Zone: 8.9 mi
Parks: 50
  • Mills Park: 8.0 mi
  • Mynatt Park: 8.6 mi
  • Acquoni Road Family Park: 10.6 mi
  • ᎠᏂᏣᎳᎩ ᎠᏂᏴᏫᏯ ᎤᎾᏓᎪᎾᏙᏗᏱ;Cherokee Indian Fair Grounds: 10.9 mi
  • ᎠᏂᏣᎳᎩ ᎤᏂᏲᏏᏙᎸ ᎨᏥᎸᏉᏗᏍᎬ;Cherokee Veterans Park: 11.0 mi
Cliffs: 18
Historic sites: 18
Picnic sites: 12
Artworks: 10
  • Bear: 8.7 mi
  • Selu Statue: 12.1 mi
  • Fish: 14.4 mi
  • Veterans Statue: 19.1 mi
  • Dolly Parton: 19.1 mi
Gardens: 5
Springs: 4
Rest areas: 4
Ghost towns: 3
Nature reserves: 2
Covered bridges: 2

Other summits around it

The highest named summits within 9.0 miles of Mount Kephart. Elevation from each summit’s own record; bearing measured between the two coordinates.

SummitBearingElevationDistance
KuwohiSW 232°2,024.79 m7.7 mi
Mount GuyotNE 55°2,019.13 m9.0 mi
Mount le Conte - High TopWNW 301°2,009.55 m3.1 mi
Mt. BuckleySW 234°2,004.12 m8.1 mi
Mount Le ConteWNW 301°2,004 m3.1 mi
Cliff TopWNW 298°1,996.55 m3.5 mi
Myrtle PointWNW 303°1,991.56 m2.8 mi
Mount ChapmanENE 60°1,960.2 m7.7 mi

When to go

Light through the year

DateSunriseGolden hourSunset
March equinox07:3819:1219:46
June solstice06:1920:1520:53
September equinox07:2218:5819:32
December solstice07:4016:4517:25

Local time (America/New_York).

Climate normals

Months averaging 50–80 °F: May–Oct.

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Avg °F313339485662666460504135
Precip in6.86.06.66.06.26.17.35.15.45.45.97.0

1991–2020 U.S. Climate Normals, NOAA NCEI — Newfound GAP, 3 mi away.

Inside the official boundary of Great Smoky Mountains National Park. Quietest months by visitation: Jan and Feb; busiest: Oct.

NPS visitation statistics, monthly averages 2021–2025 (2020 excluded).

Where this comes from

Location and category confirmed against OpenStreetMap.

OpenStreetMapWikidata

OpenStreetMap element node/3611148369

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