Black Balsam Knob

The large-scale timbering of Appalachia's forest decimated old-growth, but it also opened up huge swaths of land. That's what makes Black Balsam Knob so enticing: most Appalachian peaks are covered in dense woods, blocking potential panoramas. Many mountaintop views are visible only in the winter. 

That's not the case at Black Balsam Knob, a sprawling grassy area where you can see for miles year-round. These balds were created by a combination of clearcuts and fire. The result is an extraordinary view of the surrounding mountains, including Looking Glass Rock, Mount Pisgah and Cold Mountain—the peak whose name was used for Charles Frazier's 1997 novel Cold Mountain, which was then adapted into a 2003 feature film starring Jude Law, Nicole Kidman, and Renée Zellweger. On clear days, you might even see Mount Mitchell 45 miles to the north east—the highest point in the eastern U.S.

Black Balsam Knob is accessed by a spur road off the Blue Ridge Parkway outside Asheville. From there, follow the Art Loeb Trail up the ridge of the knob, eventually leading to a 360 degree view that includes the nearby Shining Rock Wilderness. You'll pass the bald’s dense groves of blueberries bushes. Pickers often take to the bald and fill buckets without even denting the blueberry bounty. 

Keep an eye on the local wildlife. Deer, bears, raccoons and opossums abound, of course, but so do a startling variety of songbirds. Mountain lions have yet to be definitively documented in Appalachia, but gazing at these wildlands, one can believe they're here, just hidden out of sight.