Beech Mountain is a 5,506-foot peak in North Carolina’s High Country, entirely within Pisgah National Forest. Its slopes feed streams that flow into the Elk River, and its summit area includes the Town of Beech Mountain, making it an unusual combination of mountain landscape and mountaintop community. The mountain is known as a year-round recreation destination, offering skiing, snowboarding, and tubing in winter, with hiking and mountain biking in summer; chairlifts serve downhill biking during warmer months. It is also notable for the former Land of Oz theme park, which operated briefly in the 1970s and still survives in part.

Banner Elk, North Carolina · USA