Mount Jefferson State Natural Area

Mount Jefferson State Natural Area is a 1,188-acre North Carolina state park in Ashe County, North Carolina in the United States. Located near Jefferson, North Carolina, it includes the peak of Mount Jefferson, named for Thomas Jefferson and his father Peter, who owned land nearby and surveyed the North Carolina-Virginia border in 1749. In 1974, Mount Jefferson State Natural Area was designated as a National Natural Landmark by the National Park Service.

Located in Ashe County 25 miles northeast of Boone, Mount Jefferson State Natural Area surrounds a natural landmark that offers vistas as far as Tennessee from its overlooks and Luther Rock. The mountain, first spotted from the Blue Ridge Parkway, rises abruptly from the surrounding landscape. Over 700 plants call the park home, including the Dutchman’s pipevine, which is visited by the beautiful swallowtail butterfly and its distinct black-and-orange-spiked caterpillar. The park’s winding road to the summit hosts an annual downhill skateboarding event.