Avery County

Avery County sits higher than any other county seat in the eastern United States, and the view from up here makes it easy to understand why people never leave. Carved out of the mountains in 1911 and named for Waightstill Avery, North Carolina's first attorney general, this small county carries an outsized reputation earned entirely by its geography. Grandfather Mountain looms over it all, a UNESCO biosphere reserve and one of the most distinctive peaks in the Appalachians. Newland serves as the county seat, quietly going about its business at nearly 3,600 feet above sea level. The Banner Elk area draws skiers, hikers, and leaf-lookers in numbers that would surprise anyone who has never stood at the edge of these cliffs in October and watched the whole world turn orange. Avery County does not need to advertise. The mountains do that for it.