Blue Ridge National Heritage Area

Iconic Sunset

Bill Lea Photo

Quick Facts

Location:

North Carolina

Significance:

The Blue Ridge National Heritage Area is home to the rich cultural heritage of the Cherokee Indians as well as some of the oldest mountains on the planet.

Designation:

National Heritage Area

MANAGED BY:

Blue Ridge National Heritage Area INC.

The Blue Ridge National Heritage Area is a place unlike any other on Earth, where ancient landscapes enchant the eye and age-old traditions warm the heart. The distinctive landscape of the North Carolina Mountains and foothills combined with the region’s living traditions of craft, music, agriculture and Cherokee heritage create a wealth of natural and cultural treasures unmatched in our country.

The Blue Ridge Mountains of North Carolina are among the oldest mountains on Earth. The landscape is full of superlatives: the highest mountain (Mount Mitchell), deepest gorge (Linville Gorge), and highest waterfall (Whitewater Falls) in the eastern United States; and the oldest river in North America (the New River); and the two most visited National Park lands in the country (the Blue Ridge Parkway and the Great Smoky Mountains National Park). The region is also blessed with a stunning diversity of plant and animal life; more, in fact, than the whole of Europe.

This Heritage Area includes the following sites:
 

• Peaks of Otter
• Mountain Gateway Museum
• Mabry Mill Cultural Site
• Thomas Wolfe Memorial
• Zebulon B. Vance Birthplace
• Moses Cone Memorial Park
• Linn Cove Viaduct
• Historic Carson House
• Carl Sandburg Home