Mount Mitchell Scenic Drive

The Mount Mitchell Byway is a very scenic 52-mile mountain drive, packed with vistas among the peaks and valleys of Yancey and Madison counties. This official North Carolina Scenic Byway begins on the highest peak east of the Mississippi and traverses Pisgah National Forest and the Blue Ridge Parkway. After an opening five-mile stretch of N.C. Highway 128 in Mount Mitchell State Park, the route heads east on the Blue Ridge Parkway for nearly a dozen miles. From the parkway, it dives onto N.C. 80 for a 13.4-mile descent into the Toe River Valley... The N.C. 80 portion of the drive concludes in Micaville. From there, the byway runs four miles westward into Burnsville, via U.S. 19E... The byway's final leg goes nearly 17 miles westward along U.S. 19 to Madison County, where it intersects with Interstate 26. -Romantic Asheville