The Iron Mountains are a subrange of the Blue Ridge Mountains. These mountains are located around the common meeting point of Tennessee, Virginia, and North Carolina.

A portion of the Appalachian Trail runs the crest of the Iron Mountains above Watauga Lake and the Watauga River near Elizabethton, Tennessee, and then runs northeasterly by Shady Valley, Tennessee, finally ascending Holston Mountain and into Virginia. In addition, the historic Virginia Creeper Trail traverses the Iron Mountains between Damascus and Whitetop, Virginia.