Blue Ridge Parkway · North Carolina, Virginia

Richland Balsam Trail

1.3 mi of trail, end to end · about 400 ft of climbing · 6,011 ft–6,394 ft · hiking

ViewsPeaksGaps

6,109 ft 6,103 ft · 1.0 mi high 6,394 ft

Along the way Highest Point on the Blue Ridge Parkway Motor Road Richland Balsam Haywood-Jackson Overlook

Trailhead Trailhead 6,007 ft Drive there

On the parks map

All 224 trails in Blue Ridge ParkwayFind a trailOn the parks mapPark on nps.gov

About this trail's facts

The lines are the National Park Service's public trails layer, the trailheads and the waterfalls, views, peaks and historic places along them the Service's public points of interest, read 2026-10-16 and simplified for the map; the length is the line's, end to end. The write-ups are the Service's own "things to do" text, unedited. Heights come from USGS 3DEP through Terrain Tiles on AWS (Mapzen/Tilezen), read along each line and rounded; a short trail on steep ground can be off by a few tens of feet. Closures change: check the park's own site before you go.