Richland Balsam, at 6,410 feet in North Carolina’s Great Balsam Mountains, is the highest summit in that range, among the 20 highest peaks in the Appalachians, and the ninth highest mountain in the Eastern United States. Straddling Jackson and Haywood counties, it is closely tied to the Blue Ridge Parkway, which reaches its highest elevation here at 6,053 feet. A short loop trail leads to the summit area, though the posted sign is not at the exact top. Above 5,500 feet, the mountain preserves one of the Southern Appalachians’ rare spruce-fir forests, protected largely by surrounding national forests and shaped by severe winter conditions.