Old Black
Old Black rises to 1,939 m in Tennessee. Mount Guyot stands 2,019 m to the south, 0.7 miles off. Newfound Gap Road Byway passes 11 miles off.
The story
Old Black is a mountain in the Great Smoky Mountains, located in the Southeastern United States. While often overshadowed by Mount Guyot, its higher neighbor to the south, Old Black is the 5th-highest mountain in Tennessee and the 7th-highest in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. The Appalachian Trail crosses its western slope, connecting the Cosby-area trail system with the heart of the eastern Smokies. Like much of the Smokies crest, Old Black lies along the border between Tennessee and North Carolina, with Cocke County and Sevier County to the west and Haywood County to the east. The mountain rises 4,400 feet (1,300 m) above its northwestern base near Rocky Grove and 3,300 feet (1,000 m) above its southeastern base near Walnut Bottom. Old Black is part of the Guyot massif, which extends deep into the interior of the Smokies. A ridge known as Pinnacle Lead intersects this massif—which comprises the eastern section of the crest of the Smokies—on the western slope of Old Black, giving Old Black a triangular shape similar to that of Tricorner Knob to the south. Old Black gets its name from the dense Southern Appalachian spruce–fir forest that covers its higher elevations. From afar, this forest takes on a dark green character, especially in cooler months when contrasted with the brown hardwood forest in lower elevations. This forest also adds to Old Black's blunt appearance—that of a low pyramid with a wide base.
From Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0.
Wikidata Q7083479, referenced by the OpenStreetMap record.
What the record says
- Elevation
- 1938.61 m
How to reach it
- 10.6 mi off the Newfound Gap Road Byway, National
- 12.9 mi off the Blue Ridge Parkway, National
- 17.7 mi off the Appalachian Medley
- 17.4 mi off the East Tennessee Crossing, National
Overlooks nearby
- Ben Morton Overlook · 12 mi
- Newfound Gap Overlook · 12 mi
- Charles A Webb Overlook · 12 mi
- Deep Creek Valley Overlook #2 · 12 mi
Named places within 25 miles
- Mount Guyot: 0.7 mi
- Inadu Knob: 1.1 mi
- Tricorner Knob: 1.3 mi
- Mount Yonaguska: 1.5 mi
- Inadu Mountain: 1.6 mi
- Ramsey Cascades: 2.6 mi
- Hen Wallow Falls: 3.3 mi
- Gunter Fork Falls: 3.6 mi
- Gunter Fork Cascades: 3.7 mi
- West Prong Mouse Creek Falls: 6.8 mi
- Wildwater Pigeon Rafting and Zipline Canopy Tours: 9.4 mi
- Arch Rock: 11.5 mi
- Hellbender: 13.9 mi
- Birdventure: 13.9 mi
- Forbidden Caverns: 14.0 mi
- Mills Park: 10.9 mi
- Mynatt Park: 14.6 mi
- Harmon Den Wildlife Management Area: 15.4 mi
- Chestnut Hill Park: 15.5 mi
- Acquoni Road Family Park: 15.9 mi
- Dolly Parton childhood home: 9.5 mi
- Masonic Monument: 13.3 mi
- Fort Harry: 13.4 mi
- Sugarlands Stone Cabin: 15.0 mi
- Ghost Town Village: 15.5 mi
- The Salt and Pepper Shaker Museum;The Salt & Pepper Shaker Museum: 13.9 mi
- Mountain Farm Museum: 14.3 mi
- Ripley's Believe It Or Not!: 14.8 mi
- Hollywood Star Cars Museum: 14.8 mi
- Oconaluftee Indian Village: 16.2 mi
- Cliff: 4.2 mi
- Eagle Rocks: 4.4 mi
- Sutton Ridge Overlook: 4.8 mi
- Cat Stairs: 5.8 mi
- The Jumpoff: 9.4 mi
- Cosby Picnic Area: 3.9 mi
- Greenbrier Picnic Area: 7.2 mi
- Greenbrier Picnic Pavilion: 7.4 mi
- Heintooga Picnic Area: 10.7 mi
- Chimneys Picnic Area: 14.2 mi
- Bear: 14.0 mi
- Selu Statue: 17.2 mi
- Fish: 17.7 mi
- Veterans Statue: 20.3 mi
- Dolly Parton: 20.4 mi
- Brakeshoe Spring: 6.3 mi
- Mouse Creek Spring: 7.5 mi
- Wildcat Spring: 12.8 mi
- Burnett Spring: 16.0 mi
- Whiteoak Spring: 17.2 mi
- Tennessee Welcome Center - Cocke County: 9.0 mi
- North Carolina Welcome Center: 12.0 mi
- Haywood County US 74 Westbound Rest Area: 21.3 mi
- Haywood County US 74 Eastbound Rest Area: 21.4 mi
- Jefferson County I-40 East Rest Area: 24.9 mi
- Vista Gardens: 14.0 mi
- Bamboo Forest: 16.6 mi
- Susanna Wesley Garden: 20.3 mi
- Rhododenron Garden: 22.6 mi
- Sylva Community Garden: 23.5 mi
- Greenbrier: 7.7 mi
- Great Smoky Mountains National Park: 15.1 mi
- Emerts Cove Covered Bridge: 9.3 mi
- Covered Bridge Trail: 15.8 mi
Other summits around it
The highest named summits within 9.1 miles of Old Black. Elevation from each summit’s own record; bearing measured between the two coordinates.
| Summit | Bearing | Elevation | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mount Guyot | S 191° | 2,019.13 m | 0.7 mi |
| Mount Chapman | SSW 204° | 1,960.2 m | 2.1 mi |
| Luftee Knob | SE 125° | 1,894.26 m | 2.7 mi |
| Mount Yonaguska | SSE 165° | 1,883.44 m | 1.5 mi |
| Marks Knob | S 171° | 1,878.29 m | 2.4 mi |
| Big Cataloochee Mountain | ESE 124° | 1,875.19 m | 5.4 mi |
| Mount Hardison | S 170° | 1,874.57 m | 1.9 mi |
| Tricorner Knob | S 177° | 1,873.11 m | 1.3 mi |
When to go
Light through the year
| Date | Sunrise | Golden hour | Sunset |
|---|---|---|---|
| March equinox | 07:38 | 19:11 | 19:45 |
| June solstice | 06:18 | 20:15 | 20:53 |
| September equinox | 07:22 | 18:58 | 19:32 |
| December solstice | 07:40 | 16:44 | 17:24 |
Local time (America/New_York).
Climate normals
Months averaging 50–80 °F: Apr–Oct.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Avg °F | 39 | 43 | 50 | 58 | 66 | 72 | 76 | 75 | 69 | 59 | 49 | 42 |
| Precip in | 4.2 | 3.9 | 4.7 | 4.4 | 4.6 | 6.4 | 6.5 | 4.6 | 4.0 | 2.7 | 3.4 | 4.4 |
1991–2020 U.S. Climate Normals, NOAA NCEI — Waterville 2, 10 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- USGS Geographic Names Information System feature 1008011 — Old Black, Haywood County, North Carolina.
OpenStreetMap element node/9049437152
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