Forest Heritage National Scenic Byway

Story of the Byway

Travel back in time and explore history and beautiful scenery on the Forest Heritage National Scenic Byway (U.S. 276) through the Pisgah National Forest. As you wind your way on old settlement roads past mountain peaks and cascading waterfalls, imagine how this landscape looked decades ago when modern forestry began.

Begin your driving journey at the southern entrance to the Pisgah National Forest, once marked by an arch. Today twin columns greet you as you enter one of the earliest National Forests in the eastern United States. By 1900, the land east of the Blue Ridge was the part of George W. Vanderbilt’s estate called Pisgah Forest. In 1912, Vanderbilt sold rights to “all timber, wood and bark standing and down” on 69,326 acres of Pisgah Forest to Louis Carr for $12 an acre. Carr had 20 years to cut the timber—generally taking everything over 14 to 16 inches in diameter at the stump. In those days, the only roads were wagon roads, including the one that forded the Davidson River several times to John Rock. Along the river were homes, mills, and a school. Much of the private land was farmed. Carr built rail lines along the creeks to bring out the timber by train until about 1920.

In 1914, the U.S. Forest Service bought 78,410 acres of Pisgah Forest land from the Vanderbilt estate. This land later became part of the Pisgah National Forest, established in 1916—the first national forest in the country created from purchased land. South of Vanderbilt’s land, Gloucester Lumber Company logged the watershed of the French Broad River’s headwaters. The forest supported both a sawmill and tannery until the early 1950’s. On the west side of the Blue Ridge, the Suncrest Lumber Company and its subcontractors logged the Pigeon River watershed for spruce and hardwood. Logging practices of the early 1900’s often scarred the land, silted the creeks, and destroyed acres of wildlife habitat, and yet forests reclaimed the farms and cut-over land. Today, as you drive through the forest, it is hard to imagine the landscape changes that occurred.

Fill your camera with priceless photos of Looking Glass Falls. Located on the east side of the road about five miles from the southern start of the byway is an overlook from which you can get a fantastic view of this 60-foot high waterfall, a popular stop for generations.

Become a true nature enthusiast at the Cradle of Forestry, located 11 miles from the southern entrance of the byway. It was here that the first school of forestry in America--the Biltmore Forest School--was founded by Dr. Carl Schenck, chief forester for George Vanderbilt’s Biltmore Estate. From 1898 to 1913, the Biltmore Forest School taught a new science of caring for forests. Today, enjoy a hands-on exhibit or hike an interpretive trail to experience the wonders of the forest first hand.

Travel the Forest Heritage National Scenic Byway for fun, for beauty, and for a deeper understanding of the history of the forest, the people who once lived there, and those who are working today to make it as enjoyable and full of life as it was in the past.