Whitetop Mountain
Whitetop Mountain rises to 1,684 m in Virginia. Mount Rogers stands 1,744 m to the east-northeast, 3.7 miles off. The nearest named place is Buzzard Rock, a peak 0.7 miles away. Mount Rogers Scenic Byway passes 2.3 miles off.
The story
Whitetop Mountain is the second highest independent mountain in the U.S. state of Virginia, after nearby Mount Rogers. It is also the third highest named peak in Virginia, after Mount Rogers and its subsidiary peak, Pine Mountain. It is located at the juncture of Grayson, Smyth, and Washington Counties, and is also within the Mount Rogers National Recreation Area of the Jefferson National Forest. Whitetop was the location of the White Top Folk Festival from 1932 to 1939, with the exception of 1937. Like nearby Mount Rogers, it represents an ecological "island" of flora and fauna commonly found much farther north than Virginia, such as old growth red spruce and other northern softwoods. Whitetop Mountain is within a conservation area of the same name.
From Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0.
Wikidata Q1425524, referenced by the OpenStreetMap record.
What the record says
- Elevation
- 1684 m
How to reach it
- 2.3 mi off the Mount Rogers Scenic Byway
- 16.7 mi off the New River Valley Byway
- 23.1 mi off the Blue Ridge Parkway, National
- 27.6 mi off the US 421 Scenic Byway
Overlooks nearby
- Jumpinoff Rock Overlook · 26 mi
- Mount Jefferson View · 26 mi
- Betsy's Rock Falls · 27 mi
- Alligator Back Overlook · 28 mi
Named places within 25 miles
- Buzzard Rock: 0.7 mi
- Beech Mountain: 1.1 mi
- Balsam Mountain: 1.6 mi
- Bluff Mountain: 1.7 mi
- Locust Ridge: 2.3 mi
- Laurel Creek Park: 10.2 mi
- Backbone Rock Recreation Area: 12.0 mi
- Ralph Stout Park: 15.8 mi
- Ashe County Park: 15.8 mi
- Paddy Mountain Park: 17.0 mi
- Smyth County Museum: 14.3 mi
- Mountain Farm Life Museum: 15.7 mi
- Welcome Center and Museum: 16.2 mi
- Museum of Ashe County History: 16.8 mi
- Museum Of The Middle Appalachians: 18.8 mi
- Straight Branch Falls: 6.1 mi
- Gentry Creek Falls: 7.4 mi
- Whitetop Laurel Falls: 8.0 mi
- Comer’s Creek Falls: 9.0 mi
- Sharpes Falls: 12.7 mi
- AT2020: 9.5 mi
- Another Way (ShortCut): 9.5 mi
- Wheel of Freedom: 10.3 mi
- Another Way (ShortCut): 13.3 mi
- Johnson County Veterans Memorial Wall: 15.7 mi
- Paddy Mountain Plant Conservation Preserve: 16.2 mi
- Clinch Mountain WMA: 19.4 mi
- Clinch Mountain WMA: 19.8 mi
- Clinch Mountain WMA: 19.9 mi
- Clinch Mountain WMA: 20.0 mi
- Big Pinnacle: 5.3 mi
- Listening Rock: 5.6 mi
- Where Trails Cross: 9.9 mi
- Virginia Creeper Trail Visitor Ctr: 10.3 mi
- Brig Spring: 6.2 mi
- Cave Spring: 7.4 mi
- Boiling Spring: 8.0 mi
- Big Spring: 21.7 mi
- Mount Jefferson Picnic Area: 18.0 mi
- Trials Playground: 18.6 mi
- Elk Knob Picnic Area: 21.5 mi
- Potters Truck Stop: 22.1 mi
- Newman Basket Company: 10.2 mi
- Wooly: 18.9 mi
- Heartwood: 22.4 mi
- Backbone Rock: 12.0 mi
- Morrison Cliff: 21.5 mi
- Shady Grove Gardens & Nursery: 15.9 mi
- Dr. Catherine Smith Garden: 22.3 mi
- Elk Shoals: 21.1 mi
Other summits around it
The highest named summits within 8.5 miles of Whitetop Mountain. Elevation from each summit’s own record; bearing measured between the two coordinates.
| Summit | Bearing | Elevation | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mount Rogers | ENE 67° | 1,744 m | 3.7 mi |
| Wilburn Ridge | E 79° | 1,689 m | 5.0 mi |
| Pine Mountain | ENE 75° | 1,684 m | 4.8 mi |
| Buzzard Rock | WSW 248° | 1,553 m | 0.7 mi |
| Little Pinnacle | E 98° | 1,551 m | 5.6 mi |
| Grave Mountain | NNE 30° | 1,540 m | 4.7 mi |
| Haw Orchard Mountain | E 97° | 1,526 m | 5.4 mi |
| Beech Mountain | W 261° | 1,513 m | 1.1 mi |
When to go
Light through the year
| Date | Sunrise | Golden hour | Sunset |
|---|---|---|---|
| March equinox | 07:31 | 19:04 | 19:38 |
| June solstice | 06:09 | 20:11 | 20:49 |
| September equinox | 07:15 | 18:51 | 19:25 |
| December solstice | 07:36 | 16:35 | 17:15 |
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 | 34 | 37 | 44 | 53 | 61 | 68 | 71 | 70 | 65 | 55 | 45 | 38 |
| Precip in | 3.7 | 3.4 | 4.1 | 4.3 | 5.1 | 4.5 | 5.0 | 4.2 | 3.3 | 2.8 | 2.9 | 3.9 |
1991–2020 U.S. Climate Normals, NOAA NCEI — MTN City 2, 16 mi away.
Where this comes from
Location and category confirmed against OpenStreetMap.
OpenStreetMapWikipediaWikidata- USGS Geographic Names Information System feature 1500315 — Whitetop Mountain, Smyth County, Virginia.
OpenStreetMap element node/356587081
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