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...