Richland Balsam
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Richland Balsam rises to 1,951 m in North Carolina. Mount Hardy stands 1,866 m to the southeast, 5.7 miles off. The nearest named place is Piney Mountain, a peak 1.0 miles away. Blue Ridge Parkway runs past it.
The story
Richland Balsam is a mountain in the Great Balsam Mountains in the U.S. state of North Carolina. Rising to an elevation of 6,410 feet (1,950 m), it is the highest mountain in the Great Balsam range, is among the 20 highest summits in the Appalachian range, and is the ninth highest peak in the Eastern United States. The Blue Ridge Parkway reaches an elevation of 6,053 feet (1,845 m)—the parkway's highest point—as it passes over Richland Balsam's southwestern slope. The Jackson County-Haywood County line crosses the mountain's summit. Richland Balsam's upper elevations (above approximately 5,500 feet) support part of one of just ten stands of Southern Appalachian spruce-fir forest. This forest type consists of two dominant tree types—the red spruce and the Fraser fir—commonly called the "he-balsam" and "she-balsam" respectively, although the latter has been decimated in recent decades by the balsam woolly adelgid infestation. The eastern half of Richland Balsam is protected by the Pisgah National Forest, and most of the western half is protected by the Nantahala National Forest (the exception being the Blue Ridge Parkway corridor, which is maintained by the National Park Service).
From Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0.
Wikidata Q7330610, referenced by the OpenStreetMap record.
What the record says
- Elevation
- 1951 m
How to reach it
- On the Blue Ridge Parkway, National
- 2.8 mi off the Forest Heritage Scenic Byway
- 9.7 mi off the Forest Heritage National Scenic Byway, National
- 14.3 mi off the Appalachian Medley
Overlooks nearby
Named places within 25 miles
- Piney Mountain: 1.0 mi
- Lone Bald: 1.3 mi
- Reinhart Knob: 1.4 mi
- Cold Spring Knob: 1.9 mi
- High Knob: 2.0 mi
- Big Falls of Beechflat Creek: 1.1 mi
- Boomer Inn Falls: 1.6 mi
- Little Beartrap Falls: 2.5 mi
- Berry Branch Falls: 2.6 mi
- Big Beartrap Falls: 2.6 mi
- Roy Taylor Forest: 4.9 mi
- Entrance to Blueridge Parkway at Balsam Gap: 6.9 mi
- Canada Community Park: 7.4 mi
- Hazelwood Recreation Park: 8.1 mi
- Waynesville Recreation Park: 9.2 mi
- Susanna Wesley Garden: 11.2 mi
- Cullowhee Community Garden: 11.3 mi
- Rhododenron Garden: 11.5 mi
- Sylva Community Garden: 13.3 mi
- Brevard Community Garden: 17.0 mi
- Bald Cliff: 3.5 mi
- Horseshoe Rock: 8.9 mi
- River Cliffs: 9.7 mi
- Catamount Gap: 11.7 mi
- Cedar Cliffs: 11.7 mi
- North Carolina Confederate Veterans Memorial Forest: 6.6 mi
- Lyn Lowry Cross: 9.5 mi
- 1983 Plane Crash: 10.4 mi
- Catamount Statue: 11.8 mi
- the "Big Gun" Clyde Veterans Memorial: 12.3 mi
- Wayehutta OHV Trail System: 7.9 mi
- Judaculla Rock: 8.1 mi
- Historical Downtown: 8.5 mi
- Bear Lake Reserve: 10.0 mi
- 1915 Climax Locomotive: 12.3 mi
- Wheels Through Time Motorcycle Museum: 11.2 mi
- Fine Art Museum: 11.7 mi
- Cradle of Forestry: 12.0 mi
- Shook Museum: 12.1 mi
- Canton Area Historical Museum: 14.2 mi
- Chalice: 11.3 mi
- Chief Junaluska: 11.3 mi
- American Eclipse: 11.3 mi
- Wi: 11.5 mi
- Ear: 11.7 mi
- Cold Mountain Gameland: 5.4 mi
- Shining Rock Wilderness: 7.0 mi
- Bracken Preserve: 15.1 mi
- Kelsey Trail Preserve: 24.0 mi
- Ralph and Louise Sargent Preserve: 24.5 mi
- Pisgah Picnic: 13.7 mi
- Coontree Picnic Area: 13.9 mi
- Sycamore Flats Picnic Area: 16.9 mi
- Heintooga Picnic Area: 17.8 mi
- N. Mills River Picnic Area: 19.7 mi
- Haywood County US 74 Eastbound Rest Area: 6.9 mi
- Haywood County US 74 Westbound Rest Area: 7.0 mi
- North Carolina Welcome Center: 23.3 mi
- Sandbar Pool Beach: 13.9 mi
- Lake Powhatan Beach: 22.0 mi
- Covered Bridge Trail: 13.9 mi
- Mountain Springs Lane: 15.9 mi
- Cool Spring: 20.9 mi
- Mouse Creek Spring: 24.5 mi
Other summits around it
The highest named summits within 7.0 miles of Richland Balsam. Elevation from each summit’s own record; bearing measured between the two coordinates.
| Summit | Bearing | Elevation | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mount Hardy | SE 141° | 1,866 m | 5.7 mi |
| Reinhart Knob | SSE 148° | 1,856 m | 1.4 mi |
| Sam Knob | ESE 116° | 1,844 m | 6.0 mi |
| Cold Spring Knob | NNE 32° | 1,808 m | 1.9 mi |
| Rough Butt Bald | SSE 158° | 1,807 m | 3.9 mi |
| Green Knob | ESE 123° | 1,796 m | 4.6 mi |
| Lone Bald | WNW 303° | 1,784 m | 1.3 mi |
| Little Sam Knob | ESE 121° | 1,783 m | 6.2 mi |
When to go
Light through the year
| Date | Sunrise | Golden hour | Sunset |
|---|---|---|---|
| March equinox | 07:37 | 19:10 | 19:44 |
| June solstice | 06:18 | 20:13 | 20:51 |
| September equinox | 07:21 | 18:57 | 19:30 |
| December solstice | 07:38 | 16:45 | 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 | 35 | 38 | 44 | 53 | 61 | 68 | 71 | 70 | 64 | 54 | 44 | 38 |
| Precip in | 4.6 | 4.3 | 4.4 | 4.5 | 4.2 | 4.2 | 4.1 | 4.2 | 4.3 | 3.0 | 3.6 | 4.7 |
1991–2020 U.S. Climate Normals, NOAA NCEI — Waynesville 1 E, 8 mi away.
Where this comes from
Location and category confirmed against OpenStreetMap.
OpenStreetMapWikidata- USGS Geographic Names Information System feature 1014869 — Richland Balsam, Jackson County, North Carolina.
OpenStreetMap element node/357803400
Day trips start here
- Asheville · 29 mi
Take the scenic way to Richland Balsam.
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