Shining Rock
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Shining Rock rises to 1,829 m in North Carolina. Richland Balsam stands 1,951 m to the west, 7.2 miles off. The nearest named place is Dog Loser Knob, a peak 0.5 miles away. Blue Ridge Parkway passes 3.1 miles off.
The story
Shining Rock is a mountain in western North Carolina, United States. The mountain is one of the Great Balsam Mountains which are a part of the Blue Ridge Mountains within the Appalachian Mountains. It is the 38th tallest mountain in the eastern United States. Shining Rock is in the Shining Rock Wilderness near milepost 420 of the Blue Ridge Parkway. The Art Loeb Trail passes just below the summit. Shining Rock is named for the large white quartzite rock outcropping near its summit.
From Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0.
Wikidata Q7497549, referenced by the OpenStreetMap record.
What the record says
- Elevation
- 1829 m
How to reach it
- 3.1 mi off the Blue Ridge Parkway, National
- 2.5 mi off the Forest Heritage National Scenic Byway, National
- 2.5 mi off the Forest Heritage Scenic Byway
- 15.1 mi off the Appalachian Medley
Overlooks nearby
- View Cherry Cove (MP 415.7) · 3 mi
- East Fork Overlook · 3 mi
- Log Hollow Overlook (MP 416.6) · 4 mi
- Looking Glass Rock Overlook · 4 mi
Named places within 25 miles
- Dog Loser Knob: 0.5 mi
- Flower Knob: 0.6 mi
- Stairs Mountain: 0.7 mi
- Old Butt Knob: 1.1 mi
- Grassy Cove Top: 1.4 mi
- Boulderfield Falls: 1.1 mi
- Little East Fork Falls: 1.8 mi
- Upper Greasy Cove Falls: 1.8 mi
- Ivestor Ridge Falls: 2.0 mi
- GPS Falls: 2.1 mi
- Cradle of Forestry in America: 4.9 mi
- Roy Taylor Forest: 9.8 mi
- Canton Memorial Park: 10.9 mi
- Waynesville Recreation Park: 11.3 mi
- Hazelwood Recreation Park: 11.3 mi
- North Carolina Confederate Veterans Memorial Forest: 5.1 mi
- Camp John Rock: 7.0 mi
- Buck Springs Lodge foundation: 7.1 mi
- the "Big Gun" Clyde Veterans Memorial: 11.7 mi
- Ferin Fire Tower: 12.4 mi
- Rhododenron Garden: 11.5 mi
- Brevard Community Garden: 11.8 mi
- Susanna Wesley Garden: 12.8 mi
- Plant Professional Landscape Garden: 16.5 mi
- Plants of Promise Garden: 16.7 mi
- 1915 Climax Locomotive: 5.2 mi
- Historical Downtown: 11.0 mi
- M1: 11.9 mi
- Bear Lake Reserve: 14.3 mi
- Judaculla Rock: 14.7 mi
- Berm Park: 11.9 mi
- Chief Junaluska: 12.8 mi
- Chalice: 18.2 mi
- American Eclipse: 18.3 mi
- Wi: 18.4 mi
- Bald Cliff: 10.4 mi
- Horseshoe Rock: 10.6 mi
- River Cliffs: 13.8 mi
- Castle Rock: 14.9 mi
- Dunns Rock: 15.1 mi
- Cradle of Forestry: 4.9 mi
- Canton Area Historical Museum: 11.5 mi
- Transylvania Heritage Museum: 11.6 mi
- Shook Museum: 11.7 mi
- Wheels Through Time Motorcycle Museum: 15.7 mi
- Shining Rock Wilderness: 1.5 mi
- Cold Mountain Gameland: 3.6 mi
- Bracken Preserve: 9.9 mi
- Falconhurst-West Asheville Preserve: 21.2 mi
- Collier Cove Nature Preserve: 21.6 mi
- Pisgah Picnic: 6.9 mi
- Coontree Picnic Area: 7.8 mi
- Sycamore Flats Picnic Area: 10.6 mi
- N. Mills River Picnic Area: 12.6 mi
- Heintooga Picnic Area: 22.8 mi
- Haywood County US 74 Westbound Rest Area: 12.3 mi
- Haywood County US 74 Eastbound Rest Area: 12.7 mi
- I-26 Henderson County Rest Area: 19.2 mi
- I-26 Buncombe County Rest Area: 19.3 mi
- Cool Spring: 20.0 mi
- Crystal Spring: 21.2 mi
- Lenox Spring: 22.5 mi
- Mountain Springs Lane: 9.8 mi
- Covered Bridge Trail: 16.9 mi
- Lake Powhatan Beach: 15.4 mi
- Sandbar Pool Beach: 16.3 mi
Other summits around it
The highest named summits within 7.7 miles of Shining Rock. Elevation from each summit’s own record; bearing measured between the two coordinates.
| Summit | Bearing | Elevation | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|
| Richland Balsam | W 270° | 1,951 m | 7.2 mi |
| Black Balsam Knob | SSW 194° | 1,890 m | 2.9 mi |
| Mount Hardy | SW 219° | 1,866 m | 5.8 mi |
| Reinhart Knob | W 259° | 1,856 m | 6.6 mi |
| Tennent Mountain | S 190° | 1,846 m | 2.2 mi |
| Grassy Cove Top | S 184° | 1,844 m | 1.4 mi |
| Sam Knob | SW 214° | 1,844 m | 3.2 mi |
| Silvermine Bald | SSW 196° | 1,822 m | 4.3 mi |
When to go
Light through the year
| Date | Sunrise | Golden hour | Sunset |
|---|---|---|---|
| March equinox | 07:36 | 19:10 | 19:43 |
| June solstice | 06:18 | 20:13 | 20:50 |
| September equinox | 07:20 | 18:56 | 19:30 |
| December solstice | 07:37 | 16:44 | 17:23 |
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, 10 mi away.
Where this comes from
Location and category confirmed against OpenStreetMap.
OpenStreetMapWikidataOpenStreetMap element node/357809226
Day trips start here
- Asheville · 23 mi
Take the scenic way to Shining Rock.
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