Pisgah National Forest: Cradle of Forestry in America (Blog Hike #955)

Trails: Biltmore Campus, Forest Festival, and Forest Discovery Trails
Hike Location: Pisgah National Forest, Cradle of Forestry in America
Geographic Location: north of Brevard, NC (35.35073, -82.77865)
Length: 3.5 miles
Difficulty: 4/10 (Moderate)
Date Hiked: August 2023
Overview: A rolling hike on asphalt trail past forestry exhibits and through the old Biltmore Forest School's campus.
Area Information: https://www.fs.usda.gov/recarea/nfsnc/recarea/?recid=48230
Hike Route Map: https://www.mappedometer.com/?maproute=945675
Photo Highlight:

Hike Video: 

Directions to the trailhead: From the intersection of US 64 and US 276 on the east side of Brevard, take US 276 north 15 miles to the signed entrance for the Cradle of Forestry in America on the right.  Turn right to enter the area, and park in the large blacktop lot.  The hike begins after walking through the large Visitor Center.

The hike: The year was 1895 when George Vanderbilt of Biltmore fame hired a young German forester named Dr. Carl Schenck to manage his vast forests southwest of Asheville, North Carolina.  Schenck replaced the famous Gifford Pinchot, who would later become the first chief of the U.S. Forest Service, the federal agency that manages our national forests.  During his time under Vanderbilt, Schenck developed the principles of sustainable forestry that would dominate the field for most of the 1900's.

            Realizing both his need for more labor to help him manage Biltmore's forests and the need for forestry education in America, in 1898 Schenck founded the Biltmore Forest School that formalized the needed training into a 1 year curriculum.  Students would spend their mornings in the classroom learning forestry theory and their afternoons in the forest putting that theory into practice.  Despite rough living conditions in rugged and rural western North Carolina, most students enjoyed their education, and several foresters of note including Frederick Olmstead, a founder of the Society of American Foresters, came through the school.

            In the early 1900's, large state universities began offering formal programs and degrees in forestry, and Schenck's school could not compete.  Vanderbilt fired Schenck in 1909 because the forests were not producing enough revenue, and the school closed in 1913.  Yet the Biltmore Forest School remains the first school of forestry in America, and today it is celebrated as Pisgah National Forest's Cradle of Forestry in America.  A fantastic Visitor Center describes the school, and 3 asphalt trails wind through the school's campus and the surrounding forest.  This hike uses all three of those trails, thus allowing you to see all there is to see at the site.

Start of Biltmore Campus Trail

            Start by walking through the Visitor Center to reach the main trailhead behind the Visitor Center.  The Biltmore Campus Trail goes to the left here, and the Forest Festival Trail goes to the right.  We will go both ways eventually, but I turned left to hike the Biltmore Campus Trail first.

Old schoolhouse

            Almost immediately you reach the old schoolhouse, a small wooden building where Schenck taught his students forestry theory.  Continue to follow the asphalt trail as it descends a switchback and passes under US 276 via a metal tube.  Now on the north side of US 276, the trail quickly splits to form its loop.  I could see more historic school buildings to the right, so I turned right and used the trail going straight as my return route, thus hiking the loop counterclockwise.

Rangers' dwelling

            Next you pass the school's commissary and a ranger's dwelling before heading into the woods.  The trail undulates gradually as it crosses a couple of small creeks, but all grades can be negotiated by a stroller or wheelchair.  You pass other interesting structures including Dr. Schenck's office and a blacksmith shop before closing the loop.  Interpretive signs describe each structure.  Honestly, I almost skipped this trail due to its short length, but the historic structures made this trail my favorite one at this site.

Hiking the Biltmore Campus Trail

            After closing the loop, retrace your steps back under US 276 to the Visitor Center trailhead, then continue straight to begin the Forest Festival Trail.  This trail commemorates the 1908 Biltmore Forest Fair, an event organized by Schenck on this site to promote his school and work.  Where the trail splits to form its loop, turn left to begin hiking the loop clockwise.

Portable sawmill

            The Forest Festival Trail features many exhibits about historical forestry: you pass a road grader, a logging train, and a portable sawmill in that order as you go around this loop.  The method of building roads and railroads to transport cut logs rather than floating them downstream was developed here, and it is the method still used today.  When you get to the portable sawmill exhibit (look at the huge circular blade on that saw!), you could continue around the loop if you wanted to shorten this hike.  To also hike the Forest Discovery Trail, the third and final trail at this site, turn around at the portable sawmill exhibit and retrace your steps to the logging train exhibit.  Turn right (going this direction) to begin the Forest Discovery Trail.

Logging train exhibit

            Unlike the first two trails, the Forest Discovery Trail has no forestry history or exhibits; it is just a nice walk up and down the side of the mountain.  This trail is also steeper than the first two, but the trail only gains about 200 vertical feet in just under 0.5 miles.  2.4 miles into this hike, you cross a cascading stream on an old road bridge before descending.  Some asters in bloom here brightened my path in late August.

Hiking the Forest Discovery Trail

            At 3.2 miles, you reach the seedling nursery and the end of the Forest Discovery Trail.  Turn left on the Forest Festival Trail to return to the Visitor Center and complete the hike.  If you are up for more easy to moderate hiking, the parking lot for the Pink Beds Loop, described elsewhere in this trail journal, is only a few hundred feet further up the mountain on US 276.