Madison County, North Carolina

Madison County is where the mountains feel wild again. The French Broad River cuts a forested course north through the county, past the historic riverfront seat of Marshall and its island park in midstream, then on to Hot Springs. Mars Hill, the county's largest town, has grown up around Mars Hill University, founded in 1856, and sits along Interstate 26 between Asheville and the Tennessee line.

Hot Springs is built around natural mineral hot springs that have drawn visitors for more than two centuries, and the Appalachian Trail walks straight through its downtown before climbing back into Pisgah National Forest. In the county's southwest corner, Max Patch, a grassy bald on the trail's route, opens onto a full-circle view that reaches the Great Smokies in one direction and Mount Mitchell in the other.

Luxury property here favors privacy and elevation. The gated community of Wolf Laurel, high above Mars Hill and straddling the Yancey County line, offers golf, a country club and the Hatley Pointe ski slopes, with direct access to national forest land and the Appalachian Trail at its border. Elsewhere, estates and secluded acreage sit along the river and its tributary creeks, with long-range views and genuine seclusion within reach of Asheville.