by Jim Matheny
If you’re looking for potential relief from the sweltering heat and an escape from the summer crowds when visiting Smokies, we know just the place. Consider a trip to Balsam Mountain. You can drive directly to this high-elevation area of the national park in North Carolina via the Blue Ridge Parkway. Check out the embedded video below for a quick tour of Balsam Mountain on our YouTube channel.
At an elevation of 5,335 feet, temperatures at Balsam Mountain are often 10 to 15 degrees cooler than the lower elevations of the park. While there is no real time weather data for Balsam Mountain online, you can get a general idea of the current conditions by checking the temperature at the Newfound Gap webcam website. Newfound Gap’s elevation is comparable at 5,046 feet.
In 2025, around 50,000 people visited Balsam Mountain. That’s less than half of one percent of the park’s overall visitors. It’s a drivable spot to get away from it all without having to hike deep into the wilderness.
To get there, take the Blue Ridge Parkway to the intersection of Balsam Mountain Road, also shown on maps as Heintooga Ridge Road. The intersection is around 11 miles from where the parkway ends at the Oconaluftee Visitor Center. The intersection is clearly marked with a sign for Balsam Mountain, Black Camp Gap, and the Masonic Marker. More on the Masonic marker below.
Once you’re on Balsam Mountain Rd / Heintooga Ridge Rd, in 8.8 miles you’ll reach the end of the paved road at a cul-de-sac at the Heintooga Overlook and Picnic Area.
Here you can park for access to restrooms, the picnic area, and the Flat Creek Trail trailhead. The Flat Creek Trail is one of the only trails in the Smokies to feature traditional park benches.
In the hillside picnic area, the lower area features more modern tables like you’ll find in other areas of the Smokies. If you walk up the hill, you’ll reach a unique seating area with picnic tables built by the Civilian Conservation Corps in the 1930s. These stone tabletops are surely the only picnic tables that have not been replaced since the national park opened. Friends of the Smokies staff and volunteers enjoyed lunch on these stone-cold beauties during a recent employee field trip.
The aforementioned cul-de-sac is also where adventurous offroad drivers normally access Heintooga Round Bottom Rd, a popular 15-mile one-way gravel road that remains closed due to damage from Hurricane Helene. A reopening date is yet to be determined as of this writing in July 2026. Visit the park’s website for the latest closure information.
Around half a mile before the picnic area, you’ll pass the turn to the Balsam Mountain Campground. At an elevation of 5,310 feet, it is by far the highest campground for vehicles in the park. Compare Balsam Mountain at more than a mile high to the elevations at the other frontcountry campsites in the Smokies:
- Balsam Mountain: 5,310 ft.
- Cataloochee: 2,610 ft.
- Look Rock: 2,600 ft.
- Cosby: 2,459 ft.
- Smokemont: 2,198 ft.
- Elkmont: 2,150 ft.
- Cades Cove 1,807 ft.
- Deep Creek 1,800 ft.
- Big Creek: 1,700 ft.
- Abrams Creek: 1,125 ft.
Campers should come fully stocked with supplies as it’s a 30 to 40-minute drive to the closest stores in Cherokee and Maggie Valley. Don’t forget your flashlight or headlamp if nature calls at night. The bathrooms don’t have lights. Just like the “good old days” shown below in a photo of the campground in July 1954.
There’s another unique stop on Balsam Mountain Road that is not exactly a National Park Service attraction.as you reach the sign marking the boundary of the Blue Ridge Parkway and Great Smoky Mountains National Park. Take a short walk from the parking area on a path to reach a large Masonic monument. Members of the fraternal organization sent stones from around the world to build the marker in 1938 in celebration of the creation of the national park.
The marker features 687 stones from 41 nations and every continent, including Antarctica. Some of the stones are from famous landmarks including Plymouth Rock, the Rock of Gibraltar, the Alamo, and even the White House.
See Balsam Mountain for yourself. Enjoy relatively cooler temperatures and savor a slew of wonderful overlooks along the way. There are approximately nine overlooks in the area of the Blue Ridge Parkway between the Oconaluftee Visitor Center and the turn to Balsam Mountain Road. There are also multiple overlooks on Balsam Mountain Road / Heintooga Ridge Road, including the Mile High Overlook, Maggie Valley Overlook, and Lake Junaluska Overlook.
About Friends of the Smokies
Friends of the Smokies is the official nonprofit partner of Great Smoky Mountains National Park. Through private donations, fundraising events, and specialty license plates in North Carolina and Tennessee, Friends raises money to fund needed projects and programs in the national park that would otherwise go unfunded.
Learn more about how to get a Friends of the Smokies license plate at BearPlate.org. You can make a direct tax-deductible donation at our website. We are also grateful for those who pitch in at our donation boxes throughout the park. Every gift makes a significant difference for our beloved Smokies. Thank you, Friends!
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