<Tr> <Th_colspan="2"> Climbing </Th> </Tr> <Tr> <Th> Easiest route </Th> <Td> Hike </Td> </Tr> <P> Mount Mitchell is the highest peak of the Appalachian Mountains and the highest peak in mainland eastern North America . It is located near Burnsville in Yancey County, North Carolina, in the Black Mountain subrange of the Appalachians, and about 19 miles (31 km) northeast of Asheville . It is protected by Mount Mitchell State Park and surrounded by the Pisgah National Forest . Mount Mitchell's elevation is 6,684 feet (2,037 m) above sea level . </P> <P> The peak is the highest mountain in the United States east of the Mississippi River, and the highest in all of eastern North America south of the Arctic Cordillera . The nearest higher peaks are in the Black Hills of South Dakota and the highland foothills of Colorado . </P>

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