Forest Heritage Scenic Byway
Forest History: A Journey Through Time
| Departure: | Pisgah National Forest, North Carolina |
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| Destination: | Big East Fork Trailhead, North Carolina |
| Time to allow: | 2 days |
As you travel the winding settlement roads and logging routes of years past, use your imagination to envision western North Carolina as it was decades ago. Travel passed early settlement homesteads, mountain peaks and cascading waterfalls and step back in time…
Day 1
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Start: Pisgah National Forest
This is one of the four national forests in North Carolina. It was the first national forest in the East, established in 1916 after nearly 80,000 acres of land was purchased from Edith Vanderbilt for $5 per acre.
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Stop 1: Forest Heritage Scenic Byway Drive-by Orientation Pull-off
Directions from previous place: Drive 0.2 miles past the stone columns and take the road pull-off on the right.
Distance from Previous Site: 0.2 miles / 0.3 km Travel Time from Previous Site: 1 minute Suggested Time at This Site: 5 minutes At this roadside pull-off, you'll find an exhibit showing a map, information, and interpretation, telling the byway story and identifying highlights for the route ahead.
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Stop 2: Davidson River Mill at the Sycamore Flats Picnic Area
Directions from previous place: From the drive-by map display, continue northwest on U.S. 276 for 0.1 miles and turn right at the brown sign for the Sycamore Flats Picnic Area.
Distance from Previous Site: 0.1 miles / 0.2 km Travel Time from Previous Site: 1 minute Suggested Time at This Site: 30 minutes The Davidson River was key to community settlement in 1788 when it was used to forge iron, grind corn, and mill fabric. During the Civil War, water power provided a vital source for iron and fabric. Stop at this picturesque picnic area and enjoy lunch in the fresh air.
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Overnight Point: Davidson River Campground
Directions from previous place: From Sycamore Flats Picnic Area, travelers should turn left and continue to head north on the byway for 0.8 miles. The right turn into the campground is marked.
Distance from Previous Site: 0.8 miles / 1.3 km Travel Time from Previous Site: 2 minutes This popular campground upstream from the historic Davidson River Mill site offers another great way to experience the river. Hiking trails, fishing streams, and overnight camping with interpretive programs are available here. Sites, restrooms, and shower facilities are accessible. If you're looking for a great weekend trip, don't forget your tent and toothbrush!
Total Distance Traveled in Day 1: 1.1 miles / 1.8 km
Day 2
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Stop 1: Pisgah Visitor Center
Directions from previous place: Turn left out of the campground and continue north on the Byway for 0.3 miles. Turn right at the next opportunity. This is the parking lot for the Pisgah Visitor Center.
Distance from Previous Site: 0.3 miles / 0.5 km Travel Time from Previous Site: 1 minute Suggested Time at This Site: 1 hour 30 minutes Stop at the Pisgah Visitor Center and office for more information about the forest or the byway. The center features an information desk, hands-on exhibits, a short documentary, a gift shop, and accessible restrooms. The Visitor Center is open Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. During the summer, it is also open Saturday and holidays from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. and on Sundays from 1 to 5 p.m. Across from the visitor center, the Andy Cover Nature Trail (0.7 miles, easy pace) meanders through a beautiful forest where people once lived. Watch for rock walls, apple trees and spring daffodils revealing the sites of former homesteads.
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Stop 2: English Chapel
Directions from previous place: Park your vehicle at the Pisgah Visitor Center, walk across the byway, and head north along the river 0.3 miles. There is a footbridge that allows travelers to visit on Sundays. Parking at the Chapel is not possible.
Distance from Previous Site: 0.3 miles / 0.5 km Travel Time from Previous Site: 10 minutes Suggested Time at This Site: 10 minutes In addition to serving as the local church, this building also served as a one-room schoolhouse for the children of the 40 to 50 families who lived in the Davidson River Community. Fill your camera with priceless memories of this historic building. The English Chapel is within walking distance of the Pisgah Visitor Center and Davidson River Campground.
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Stop 3: Davidson River Community Pull-off
Directions from previous place: From the English Chapel, continue northwest on the byway for 0.3 miles.
Distance from Previous Site: 0.3 miles / 0.5 km Travel Time from Previous Site: 1 minute Suggested Time at This Site: 15 minutes This interpretive pull-off location marks the site of homesteads from the early 1900s. At the time, the Davidson River and its tributaries were home to a community of independent, self-reliant families who farmed the land or maintained pasture. Walk to the clearing where the homesite once stood and imagine the current forest view being a view of cornfields and pastures as it once was.
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Stop 4: Coontree Picnic Area
Directions from previous place: From the Davidson River Community interpretive sign, continue heading north on U.S. 276 for 2.7 miles. There are several picnic pull-offs between the sign and Coontree, but continue to Coontree and turn left at the sign for a full-featured site, including accessible restrooms.
Distance from Previous Site: 2.7 miles / 4.3 km Travel Time from Previous Site: 5 minutes Suggested Time at This Site: 30 minutes This picnic site offers another great way to experience the river and reflect on the importance it played in the area’s early settlement. Coontree includes accessible restrooms and opportunities for hiking and fishing.
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Stop 5: Pisgah Center for Wildlife Education and Fish Hatchery
Directions from previous place: From the Coontree Picnic Area, turn left and continue north on the byway. After 0.4 miles, turn left and head west on FS 475 and follow the signs to the Pisgah Center for Wildlife Education and Fish Hatchery. After 1.4 miles, turn left into the marked parking lot.
Distance from Previous Site: 1.8 miles / 2.9 km Travel Time from Previous Site: 5 minutes Suggested Time at This Site: 1 hour 15 minutes Your visit to this site includes walk around the outdoor trout hatchery raceways, a model backyard wildlife garden, interpretive trails, indoor aquariums representing North Carolina’s aquatic habitats, and a documentary. First the site of a logging community, then a Civilian Conservation Corps camp during the Great Depression, the area is now a hatchery operated by NC Wildlife Resources Commission that raises thousands of trout for western North Carolina streams.
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Stop 6: John Rock Logging Camp Site and Historical Marker
Directions from previous place: This historical marker is located at the entrance to the parking area of the Pisgah Center for Wildlife Education.
Suggested Time at This Site: 10 minutes Ponder the interesting history of the John Rock Logging Camp Site. For thousands of years, people have lived and worked on the the flat expanse below the sheer cliffs of John Rock. Over the past 100 years, this was the site of a Black Forest Lodge, a logging camp, a Civilian Conservation Corps camp, and a Boy Scout camp. A trail leading to the top of John Rock begins at the end of the parking area. The Cat Gap Loop Trail (4.4 miles, medium intensity) branches off to the John Rock Trail (1.8 miles, medium intensity), climbing to the top of the dome.
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Stop 7: Looking Glass Falls Overlook
Directions from previous place: From the John Rock Logging Camp interpretive site, turn right out of the parking lot and follow the signs back to the Forest Heritage Scenic Byway. You will reach the U.S. 276 in 1.4 miles. Turn left to continue north along the byway for 0.4 more miles. Pull off on the east side of the road for the Looking Glass Falls overlook.
Distance from Previous Site: 1.8 miles / 2.9 km Travel Time from Previous Site: 3 minutes Suggested Time at This Site: 15 minutes Feel the mist of an Oregon waterfall at the Looking Glass Falls overlook. Today’s byway passes the falls along the grade of a former logging railroad. Louis Carr built 75 miles of railroad to haul the timber to his sawmill in the town of Pisgah Forest. Today, much of U.S. 276 follows the route of the logging trains.
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Stop 8: Sliding Rock
Directions from previous place: From Looking Glass Falls, head north on the Byway for 2.1 miles. The turnoff to Sliding Rock is marked with a brown sign and is on the west side of the road.
Distance from Previous Site: 2.1 miles / 3.4 km Travel Time from Previous Site: 5 minutes Suggested Time at This Site: 1 hour In the summer, visitors may enjoy a cool slide down Sliding Rock Falls' 60-foot rock waterslide into the 7-foot pool of water below. The falls are supervised by lifeguards and a restrooms and changing areas are provided for visitors.
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Stop 9: The Cradle of Forestry
Directions from previous place: From Sliding Rock, turn left to continue heading north on the byway. After 3.4 miles, turn right into the Cradle of Forestry in America’s Forest Discovery Center.
Distance from Previous Site: 3.4 miles / 5.4 km Travel Time from Previous Site: 6 minutes Suggested Time at This Site: 2 hours This interpretive site is home to the first forestry school in the United States. Operated by George W. Vanderbilt’s personal forester, Dr. Carl Schenk, the school taught students the science and business of forestry. During the school's 15 years of operation, over 350 students practiced tree stewardship, lumbering, and maintaining productive woodlands. Many of the forest management principles established at the school have been employed around the world. Today, the Cradle of Forestry includes several enticing activities for visitors to western North Carolina. Visitors will learn all about the forest through informational movies, programs, and special events that occur there. Hikes and trails around the facility lead to historic buildings and to scenic places in the forest. Discover the roots of the forest at the Cradle of Forestry.
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Stop 10: Pink Beds Picnic Area
Directions from previous place: From the Cradle of Forestry, turn right to head north and continue on the byway. After 0.2 miles, turn right again into the Pink Beds Picnic Area.
Distance from Previous Site: 0.2 miles / 0.3 km Travel Time from Previous Site: 1 minute Suggested Time at This Site: 30 minutes Enjoy a meal among the trees at the Pink Beds Picnic Area. At the turn of the century, settlers in this small community farmed in the Pink Beds area. The Pink Beds Loop Trail (5 miles, easy) is accessible from the picnic area.
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Stop 11: Blue Ridge Parkway
Directions from previous place: From the Pink Beds Picnic Area, turn north on the byway and continue for 3.6 more miles. There will be directional signs for the Blue Ridge Parkway before the intersection. Travelers don’t have to stop or turn off; they can continue under the Blue Ridge Parkway bridge and keep going on the byway.
Distance from Previous Site: 3.6 miles / 5.8 km Travel Time from Previous Site: 6 minutes Get a high-elevation view of the forest’s current landscape on this All American Road, managed by the National Park Service, which traverses the backbone of the Blue Ridge Mountains with a section traveling through the Pisgah Ranger District. The route is also a traveling turning point: turning north leads to Mt. Pisgah and Asheville, while going south will take you to Great Smoky Mountains National Park.
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End: Big East Fork Trailhead
Directions from previous place: From the intersection with the Blue Ridge Parkway, continue north along U.S. 276 as the Byway winds and curves. After 2.8 miles turn left into the Big East Fork Trailhead parking lot. This is a main access to the Shining Rock Wilderness area. If the parking lot on the left is full, another one is available immediately on the right.
Distance from Previous Site: 2.8 miles / 4.5 km Travel Time from Previous Site: 6 minutes The 1964 Wilderness Act declared wild areas to be preserved in their natural condition for future generations. This trailhead is a main access to Shining Rock Wilderness, one of the first designated wilderness areas, established in 1964. Wilderness trails are minimally maintained are not signed so as to protect the primeval wilderness character. Wilderness hikers should expect to be self-reliant, must not travel in groups of more than 10, and may not build campfires.
