Forest Festival Trail (#319)
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A route map of the Forest Festival Trail as tracked by the Gaia GPS app and depicted a la Google Earth...
A route map of the Forest Festival Trail as tracked by the Gaia GPS app...
Cradle of Forestry in America National Historic Site
The entrance to the Historic Site off US-276 north of Brevard...
Cradle of Forestry in America National Historic Site
This is the 'new' visitor center for the Historic Site. The original burned to the ground in 1985 and this is the structure which replaced it. Bigger and better, this center houses some impressive interpretive displays, artifacts, a gift shop, and small restaurant...
The Forest Festival Trail is one of two mile-long loops that start from the visitor center (the other being the Biltmore Campus Trail). To begin, exit the rear of the center and take a right...before long the trailhead interpretive sign will appear ahead...
A close-up of the trailhead interpretive sign showing the various interpretive stops one passes along the loop...
Forest Festival Trail -- Timber Stand Improvement
At the first stop you can read about steps taken over the last couple decades to "improve" the quality of the forest in the immediate vicinity. White pines and oaks had been struggling to thrive in this area so measures have been taken here to help facilitate their survival...
Forest Festival Trail -- Biltmore Forest Plan
Here is found a bit of background information on the origins and importance of Forest Management Plans, which are integral to effective use of our National Forests. During the time of Schenck and Pinchot focus was on natural regeneration, plantings, and protection against fire and grazing. Many of these basic concerns remain focal points of Forest Management to this day...
Forest Festival Trail -- Seedling Nursery
Heading straight ahead at the start of the loop you quickly arrive at a small seedling nursery. Here, Schenck grew small trees from seed to help re-forest thousands of acres of woodland previously cleared for pasture on the Biltmore property. His practices continue to be used today for reforestation efforts at different sites across the country...
Forest Festival Trail -- Norway Spruce Plantation
The oldest of the Norway Spruce trees seen here were planted by Schenck himself back in 1909. Originally the plantation was intended to grow many more trees but the site was neglected after the school closed and most of the original trees died. Today, the Cradle of Forestry NHS has planted seedling here once again to try to exhibit what the nursery looked like during the time of the Biltmore School...
Forest Festival Trail -- Conifer Plantation
Early forestry studies involved more trial-and-error than you might expect. Schenck needed species of conifer which would thrive best in the local mountains to most efficiently re-forest clear-cut areas, but he didn't know at first what species those might be. Schenck, therefore, planted numerous species in small plots like this and studied which trees flourished and which didn't so he could better manage future reforestation plans in Pisgah...
Forest Festival Trail -- Rhododendron Thicket
Beyond the conifer plantation the trail winds through a large and very thick grove of rhododendron. Any visitor to the southern Appalachians knows that these thickets are a common sight around the area, particularly on cool, wet slopes. Schenck had a love-hate relationship with the Rhododendron as he, like many people, adored their spring blooms but was frequently frustrated with how the thick shade the groves produce limit growth of other tree species...
Forest Festival Trail -- Improvement Cutting
Part of good forest management is reading the condition of the forest and determining what, if any, changes could or should be made to promote a more healthy and productive ecosystem. This area, about 20 years ago, saw a large die-off of oak trees. Foresters since have determined that a mixed hardwood-conifer forest would better support wildlife in this area so have proceeded to begin cuttings and plantings to transform the old oak forest into this new type of woodland...
Forest Festival Trail -- Portable Sawmill
This steam-powered mill represents one of several such early forestry industrial sites located in Pisgah Forest during the time of the Biltmore School. Portable mills were used as in-process facilities for trees being cut high up in the mountains. Instead of whole logs needing to be transported all the way down to a river or full-size mill the logs would be cut on-or-near site which would make for easier transport. Unfortunately, this particular example of a portable mill is no longer a functioning site but its still a fascinating glimpse into the not-so-distant past...
Forest Festival Trail -- Portable Sawmill
This steam-powered mill represents one of several such early forestry industrial sites located in Pisgah Forest during the time of the Biltmore School. Portable mills were used as in-process facilities for trees being cut high up in the mountains. Instead of whole logs needing to be transported all the way down to a river or full-size mill the logs would be cut on-or-near site which would make for easier transport. Unfortunately, this particular example of a portable mill is no longer a functioning site but its still a fascinating glimpse into the not-so-distant past...
Forest Festival Trail -- Protective Cover
Beyond the portable mill the forest suddenly becomes fully dominated by tall pines. A nearby interpretive sign explains what changes can be found in this environment versus what has come before on the trail as well as explaining the benefits of having a diverse forest like this one...
Forest Festival Trail -- Logging Train
Perhaps the most popular stop on the FFT is this, a restored 1915 Climax locomotive which worked the forests of Western North Carolina for over 40 years before finding its way here. These narrow-guage engines were quite popular with logging operations in the mountains and many of the old rail routes now serve as right-of-ways for modern highways and forest trails...
Forest Festival Trail -- Logging Train
Perhaps the most popular stop on the FFT is this, a restored 1915 Climax locomotive which worked the forests of Western North Carolina for over 40 years before finding its way here. These narrow-guage engines were quite popular with logging operations in the mountains and many of the old rail routes now serve as right-of-ways for modern highways and forest trails...
Forest Festival Trail -- Log Loader
Sitting on the tracks just behind the old locomotive is this massive steam crane, which could be pulled behind a train engine and helped greatly in removing felled logs from rough terrain. The steam loader could reach upwards of 100-feet down a hillside to reach timber and was capable of loading over 1,000 logs per day...
Forest Festival Trail -- Pine Plantation
This small white pine plantation was planted in the 1980's to represent similar plantings done by Dr. Schenck. As the trees grow, smaller and less healthy trees are systematically removed, leaving only the largest and sturdiest trees in their place...
Forest Festival Trail -- Farm Site
Here are the remains of one of hundreds of old farm sites which dot the hillsides within Pisgah National Forest. Many of these old farms had already been abandoned by the time of the Biltmore School and it was Schenck's job to best determine how to re-forest the old fields and eroded clear-cuts surrounding them. Go for a hike in the area today and its not uncommon to stumble upon an old foundation or orchard, now thickly surrounded by lush regrown woodlands...
Forest Festival Trail -- Road Graders
Forestry and road building have always gone hand-in-hand. Roads provide access to help harvest, manage, and protect the resources the forest contains. Schenck ended up building over 80 miles of road in this small corner of Pisgah alone. To this day the U.S. Forest Service is known for its prolific road building, maintaining a network that stretches nearly 400,000 miles...
Forest Festival Trail -- Open View
Unlike today's forests and their thickly-covered understories the forests of the 19th Century southern mountains were often quite open beneath their canopies due to grazing and fire. Today, certain parts of the forest are managed to retain this more "open" forest environment, not only for its visual appeal but to the benefit of certain species of wildlife who better thrive in this type of ecosystem...
Forest Festival Trail -- Trout Hatchery
As a kind of side-project, Vanderbilt had Schenck help stock ponds across the forest lands he owned to help draw in visitors and their wallets. These small fish-rearing "races" were built here in 1933 but only operated for about three years when the nearby Davidson River hatchery (which operates to this day) opened...