Travel Guide: Pisgah National Forest

   What do you do if you are 20 years old, quarantined for the summer, with no job or place to be? Well if you're me, you go camping. A lot. This travel guide is the result of that unique cocktail of circumstances in summer 2020, where I was lucky enough to spend a significant amount of time camping and hiking in Pisgah National Forest; one of my favorite places on earth. 

    Pisgah Forest is nestled in the Western North Carolina Appalachians, the oldest mountain range on the continent. The forest is full of deep temperate rain forests, Blueridge peaks, and secluded waterfalls to explore. I often tell people that I feel like I grew up in Pisgah because my family went there for so many camping and hiking trips when I was a kid. I’ve had the privilege to hike, and re-hike, many trails and learn the forest like the back of my hand. While Pisgah has become a lot more popular over the years as a prime hiking, mountain biking, and waterfall hunting spot, I've found that there are still plenty of trails, waterfalls, and mountaintops left to explore. This post contains some of my favorite spots, famous and obscure, oldies as well as new discoveries, in Pisgah Forest. 

    The places on this list are scattered across the forest from the lower elevation valley to the top of the main ridge of the forest. Many, like Mount Pisgah and Black Balsam, are accessed by the Blue Ridge Parkway. The Blue Ridge Parkway is a scenic road that starts at the edge of the Smoky Mountains and runs through the middle of Pisgah Forest. With nearly constant views and countless trailheads, the Blue Ridge Parkway would make a great day trip or road trip of its own. I don't cover camping in detail in this guide, but campers can rent spots in Davidson River Campground, Mount Pisgah Campground, or set up at one of many secluded primitive spots along the forest roads and backpacking trails. Alternatively, you can book a room at Pisgah Inn, which sits at an incredibly scenic overlook on the Blue Ridge Parkway and offers rooms with wall-to-wall views as well as a restaurant. I've tried all of the options above and loved each of them. The title of each place on this list will take you to a previous post giving more information, stories, and details about trail access for that spot. 

John Rock

    John Rock is one of the two distinctive monoliths that shape Pisgah's landscape, next to similarly shaped Looking Glass Rock and the less-visited Cedar Rock. You can easily access a trail system at the base of John Rock that will take you to the very top, where you can catch sweeping views of the mountains and Blue Ridge Parkway in the distance. 

Fryingpan Mountain Lookout Tower

    This old lookout tower was historically used to watch for forest fires, but now it is a favorite sunset spot for road trippers and campers. You can access the tower by pulling off the Blue Ridge Parkway and making the short hike up a gravel road. I love Fryingpan tower because it delivers amazing views along with a burst of adrenaline as you scale the (sometimes swaying!) steps to the top. 

Black Balsam and Sam Knob

    Black Balsam and Sam Knob are two of the most scenic and unique places in the forest. These two pinnacles can be accessed from the same parking lot but give two different experiences. Black Balsam is one of several bald peaks connected by the Art Loeb Trail. The wind, grassy meadows, and occasional rock outcroppings give this area a serious "Sound Of Music" vibe. Sam Knob is a saddle-shaped, forested mountain on the other side of the valley. You can hike to it by passing through a beautiful wildflower meadow, balsam forest, and rhododendron patches. The top, once again, offers an epic 360-degree view of the area. 

Mount Pisgah

    Mount Pisgah is a classic hike, as well as being the namesake for the rest of the forest. This distinctively triangular mountain is steeped in local history (which you can read more about in my post here), and makes for a beautiful hike. You can access the trail from the Blue Ridge Parkway and make the short but extremely vertical ~1 mile hike to the top. 

Max Patch

    While technically still in Pisgah Forest, Max Patch is in a more remote section of the forest northwest of Asheville. This scenic bald is well known among Appalachian Trail thru-hikers as the trail passes right over the top. With primitive camping on top of the mountain, access to the AT, and Roaring Fork shelter not far away, Max Patch is a great spot for a day trip or as part of a longer backpacking trip like I did. 

    These are some of my favorite spots in Pisgah Forest, but they are just a starting point. There are so many other trails, forest roads, and secluded spots that didn't make this list. I would be remiss without giving an honorable mention to picnicking and hiking at Pink Beds, swimming in Davidson River, and exploring Looking Glass Falls. There are also several great towns and cities in the area to explore when you are ready for a dose of human contact, from the artsy streets of downtown Asheville to the cozy small-town feel of Brevard. At the end of the day, I highly recommend exploring this giant forest on your own and finding the places that speak to you.