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Natural Heritage Trail

Richland Balsam

Haywood County Tourism Development Authority

Richland Balsam, a mountain near Brevard, North Carolina, rises to 6,410 feet and is the highest peak on the Blue Ridge Parkway. Visitors can reach the summit on a moderate-to-strenuous 1.5 mile, self-guided loop trail that passes through a spruce-fir forest.

The term "balsam" is commonly applied to Fraser fir and red spruce, the scent of which permeates the fresh air on the mountain. Two varieties of spruce grow here: "he-balsam" has rough bark and prickly needles like a man's beard and "she-balsam" has smooth barked fir with shiny flat needles.
Other plants, such as blackberry and elderberry shrubs, grow where the firs have been felled by windthrows, opening the forest floor to sunlight.

Hours of Operation
N/A

Admission Fees
No fees
*Prices are subject to change without notice & from what is listed on this website.

Location
The Richland Balsam trail is easily accessed from the Haywood-Jackson Overlook at Parkway milepost 431.

Blue Ridge Parkway
828-877-3265
National Park Service
http://www.nps.gov/blri

http://www.brptrails.com