Nov 09 2023
Lookout Mountain Stretching for more than 80 miles across Tennessee, Georgia, and Alabama, Lookout Mountain is one of the most distinctive long ridges of the southern Appalachian Mountains. Its sandstone-capped plateau rises abruptly above Chattanooga at its northern end, continues through northwestern Georgia, and extends deep into northeastern Alabama before finally descending toward Gadsden. Lookout …
Nov 08 2023
Cheaha Mountain | Mount Cheaha Rising above the forested ridges of east-central Alabama, Cheaha Mountain is the highest natural point in the state and the dominant summit of the Talladega Mountains. Modern LiDAR places its summit at 2,407.8 feet (733.9 meters), making Cheaha modest by the standards of the Rockies or higher Appalachians but remarkably …
Nov 08 2023
Red Mountain Rising immediately south of downtown Birmingham, Red Mountain is one of the most historically consequential ridges in the southern Appalachian Mountains. Its elevation is modest, with the familiar Birmingham crest reaching roughly 1,025 feet (312 meters), yet few American mountains have influenced the creation and identity of a major city as directly as …
Sep 30 2023
Johnson Top Johnson Top is a 1,870-foot (570-meter) summit straddling the boundary between Madison and Jackson counties in northern Alabama. Part of the Southern Cumberland Plateau and the broader Appalachian Mountains, the forested summit is notable not only for its elevation but also because it serves as the highest point of both Madison County and …
Sep 30 2023
Brushy Top Brushy Top is a forested summit in Gilmer County, Georgia, rising to about 2,430 feet (741 meters) in the southern Blue Ridge Mountains. Located west of Ellijay and southeast of Chatsworth, the mountain occupies a quieter corner of north Georgia where wooded ridges, deep stream valleys, and scattered rural communities form the transition …
Sep 29 2023
Gunters Mountain Gunters Mountain is a broad, plateau-like mountain rising to approximately 1,390 feet (424 meters) in Marshall County, Alabama. Part of the southern Cumberland Plateau and the larger Appalachian Mountains, the mountain stands above the Tennessee River and Guntersville Lake between Guntersville and Scottsboro. Although its elevation is modest compared with the highest mountains …
Sep 26 2023
Mount Mitchell Mount Mitchell is the highest mountain in North Carolina, the highest summit in the Appalachian Mountains, and the highest point in the United States east of the Mississippi River. Rising to 6,684 feet (2,037 meters) in the Black Mountains of western North Carolina, the peak towers above an exceptionally rugged landscape of spruce-fir …
Sep 26 2023
Grassy Ridge Bald Grassy Ridge Bald is one of the most beautiful high-elevation summits in the southern Appalachian Mountains, rising to approximately 6,194 feet (1,888 meters) in the Roan Highlands of western North Carolina. Its broad, mostly treeless summit is covered by grasses, wildflowers, rhododendrons, and low shrubs, creating panoramic views that extend across layer …
Sep 25 2023
Celo Knob Celo Knob is a rugged, heavily forested 6,329-foot (1,929-meter) summit forming the northern gateway to the Black Mountains of western North Carolina. Rising above the South Toe River valley in Yancey County, the mountain marks the beginning of one of the highest and most dramatic ridgelines in the eastern United States. Celo Knob …
Mar 18 2023
The weekend was coming and I was looking for a good place to do some bouldering. After asking around, Grandmother Mountain was the name that came up the most in conversations. As I searched for directions, my climbing shoes winked at me from across the room. It was bound to be a great adventure. Like …
