The town of Burnsville, in Yancey County, North Carolina, is known as “The Gateway to Mt. Mitchell”, the highest peak east of the Mississippi River; Mt. Mitchell State Park is located just off the Blue Ridge Parkway, and hosts thousands of visitors per year. Mt. Mitchell’s elevation is 6,684 feet. We are a small, mountainous, rural county, with breathtaking scenery, 32,000+ acres of National and State Forest lands, abundant wildlife, incredibly beautiful wildflowers, lush woodlands, and numerous rivers and streams. Yancey County has the highest average elevation in the state of North Carolina! The Blue Ridge Parkway, one of the nation’s most scenic highways, traverses the southern boundary of the county, and the Appalachian Trail, used by hikers and campers for decades, traverses the northern portion of the county, through Pisgah National Forest.
The population of Yancey County North Carolina in 2010 was close to 17,800 and includes the town of Burnsville. The county has average temperatures of 22 to 47 degrees in the winter and 82 degrees in the summer. Average annual rainfall is 47 inches, with an average snowfall of 100 inches. Industries in Yancey County North Carolina include textiles, timber, manufacturing. construction, asphalt and gravel production, tourism, and a wealth of service providers. Agriculture, always a growing industry here includes farming, tobacco, Christmas trees, ornamental shrubs, nursery stock, landscaping, and beef cattle. The third largest income sector in the county is from arts and crafts. Over 700 full-and part-time people are employed in the arts and crafts business in Yancey County alone. Not surprisingly, visitors can find a wealth of authentic craft shops and intriguing galleries and studios throughout the county.
Our healthy, small-town economy in Burnsville is among the state’s most vigorous: unemployment is low, jobs are strong and growing, with solid industry and a wide variety in an expanding retail marketplace. Here, traditional mountain values – hard work, neighborly cooperation, family life – are as enduring as the mountains themselves. Here we live with a conscious and conscientious awareness of the rugged, gentle beauty of our land.
For more information, please visit Mountain Travel Guide.
Another fantastic resource for our area is “The Ultimate Guide to Asheville & Hendersonville” by Lee Pantas, the best-selling guidebook to Asheville, Hendersonville and the Western North Carolina mountains.
Continuing Our Craft Heritage
The Burnsville area of the North Carolina mountains is quite renown for the concentration of artists and craftsmen of all media who live here. World famous Penland School, located in adjoining Mitchell County, is responsible for bringing artists and craftsmen here from all over the world. For more information about our craft heritage, contact the Toe River Arts Council, Yancey Arts, Penland School, and Bernstein Glass.
Links to Local Websites
If you have any questions or would like more information, please contact us 828.682.4552, email us, or use our online request form.