Cradle of Forestry, Pisgah National Forest

Date	Distance	Time	Elevation Gain	Average Moving Time	Year to Date Miles
7/24/2021	2.9 miles	2 hours	94'		169.2

Map: 

• Gaia GPS, plus park provides a map

Parking: 

• 11250 Pisgah Highway
• $6 fee per person

Carolina Mountain Club Challenges:

• Pisgah 400 Challenge: #006 Biltmore Campus Trail
• Pisgah 400 Challenge: 3#319 Forest Festival Trail

More information: Cradle of Forestry

There was a chance of thunderstorms, so we were looking for shorter hikes today, where we could bale out if needed. We chose the Cradle of Forestry, which has a couple of easy trails on the Pisgah 400 challenge list. The Cradle of Forestry is the birthplace of forestry. /There are indoor exhibits, but we didn't see them, because we brought Krummholz. They were still quite dog friendly though. We had to walk through the building with our dog to get to the trails. Along the trails are a number of historic buildings. We were prepared to enter them one at a time, but we were told it was fine for Krummholz to go inside them. I love how dog friendly this area is. The 2 trails we did were short, easy, and paved. But the exhibits were interesting. We met a docent who told us a bit about the history of the forestry school. Both Glen and I enjoyed the trip. I'd love to come back and spend some time sketching some of the buildings.

We had a little bit of extra time after our trip, so we tried driving a short distance to visit Skinny Dip Falls, but the parking lot was overpacked. This is another waterfall, where people must go swimming. So, we skipped that, and headed to the Western North Carolina farmers market to pick up produce, before heading to Brevard Music Center for the evening for a performance of Beethoven's 5th.