Mount Mitchell State Park is the highest point East of the Mississippi at 6,684 feet offering breathtaking views of the Blue Ridge Mountains. The Park offers an exhibit hall, restaurant, hiking & bridle trails, observation tower, picnic area, primitive camping, visitor center. The mountain was named after Elisha Mitchell, a professor at the University of North Carolina, he determined its height in 1835. Mount Mitchell is located near Burnsville in Yancey County, NC, and about 32 miles northeast of Asheville. The weather on Mount Mitchell is very mild in the summer and very harsh in the winter, more like Maine or southeastern Canada than North Carolina. For additional information and current conditions call 828-675-4611.  www.ncparks.gov