Explore the Birthplace of Science-Based Forest Management

Open April – November

Open Wednesdays through Mondays, 10:00am – 5:00pm

SPECIAL OPENING DAY EVENT: April 8th, 2023, 10:00am-5:00pm … Opening Day Celebration! “Join us at the Cradle of Forestry as we celebrate opening for the 2023 season. We will be bringing the Biltmore Campus Trail to life! Kids can do old-time chores to earn treats at the old commissary (general store). We will also be working in our community science lab throughout the afternoon and welcome kids to help us collect some data about our forest.”

Nestled in Pink Beds Valley is the Cradle of Forestry in America. This heritage site is the birthplace of science-based forest management. George and Edith Vanderbilt of the nearby Biltmore Estate are accredited for this living legacy. Some 87,000 acres of the Vanderbilt’s “Pisgah Forest” tract became the nucleus of the Pisgah National Forest, established in 1916.

Today this North Carolina destination is jointly managed by the US Forest Service and FIND Outdoors. The site is open to visitors from mid-April to early November. As you enter the main gate (4 miles off the Blue Ridge Parkway at Milepost 412) you are rewarded with the opportunity to explore the past, present, and future of environmental sustainability and stewardship. These are brought to visitors through paved interpretive trails, interactive exhibits, film, music, drama, guided tours, nature programs, craft demonstrations, and special events. A sustainably designed Forest Discovery Center with its gift shop and café welcomes visitors to the historical structures and a relaxing walk through the woods.