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Dark Ridge

Ghost town · Avery County, North Carolina

Elk Park quadrangle, USGS topographic map (1934, 1:24,000)
Elk Park quadrangle, USGS topographic map (1934, 1:24,000) · U.S. Geological Survey, Historical Topographic Map Collection · Public domain

Dark Ridge is a ghost town in Avery County, North Carolina. It is the only former community in Avery County recorded on the federal names register, out of 280 across North Carolina.

The U.S. Geological Survey lists Dark Ridge as a historical populated place on the Elk Park topographic quadrangle: the name is no longer in official use for a community, whether the settlement was abandoned, absorbed into a neighbouring town or renamed. The recorded location is 36.2240° N, 81.9393° W.

Key facts

USGS quadrangleElk Park
Elevation3,004 ft
Nearest living townBeech Mountain, NC
Distance to it3.1 miles
GNIS feature ID1017817
Coordinates36.22401, -81.93928

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What's there now

Dark Ridge is no longer a community in its own right. The nearest living town is Beech Mountain, NC (population 831), about 3.1 miles away in a straight line, and the site sits at roughly 3,004 feet above sea level. Much of the land around former townsites is private; check access before you visit.

Nearby places

Sources and licences

Facts marked "approximately" carry an uncertain date in the source. Text on this page is generated from the sources above; no encyclopedia prose is copied. Last updated 2026-11-05.