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The Plott Balsams are a mountain range in western North Carolina in the southeastern United States.
Waterrock Knob, which has an elevation of , is the highest summit in the Plott Balsams. Four other summits in the range rise above 6,000 feet, namely Mount Lyn Lowry, Browning Knob, Plott Balsam Mountain, and Yellow Face. Other notable summits include the Pinnacle, which overlooks the Sylva area to the south, Blackrock Mountain (near Yellow Face), and Campbell Lick, which overlooks Maggie Valley. A stand of Southern Appalachian spruce–fir forest cover the range's upper elevations.
The Blue Ridge Parkway traverses the slopes of the highest mountains in the Plott Balsams, connecting Soco Gap and Balsam Gap. A short road connects the parkway to an overlook and a National Park Service visitor contact station and bookstore near the summit of Waterrock Knob.
The city of Sylva maintains a municipal park along Fisher Creek in the southeast section of the range. A memorial dedicated to leukemia victim Lyn Lowry, who died in 1962, is situated atop Lowry's namesake mountain. The memorial includes a cross that is lit up at night, making it visible for miles from the surrounding towns.
The Plott Balsams are named for the Plott family, whose ancestor, (Johannes) George Plott (c. 1733-1815), immigrated to North Carolina in the late 18th century from Germany. The Plott Hound, a breed of hunting dog, is named after the range.Marcus Simpson, Harold Pratt, Birds of the Blue Ridge Mountains (University of North Carolina, 1992), p. 182.
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