Pisgah Ranger District 1001 Pisgah Highway, Pisgah Forest, North Carolina 28768 828-877-3265 The 499,816-acre Pisgah National Forest contains a plethora of waterfalls, rock slides, swimming holes, fishing spots, campsites, hiking trails and picnic areas. Take a thrilling ride down Sliding Rock, a 60-foot cascade, and plunge into a six-foot-deep pool. A lifeguard is on duty here during the summer. Other attractions include Looking Glass Falls (60-foot drop), the Cradle of Forestry (site of the first forestry school in the United States), North Carolina Arboretum and Bent Creek Experimental Forest. Interesting waterfalls in the vicinity include Connestee Falls, High Falls, Rainbow Falls and Toxaway Falls.
Horseback riding is also available at Pisgah Forest Stables. Davidson River Campground and Lake Powhatan Campground are located here, both of which are accessible from the Blue Ridge Parkway. Pisgah National Forest offers some of the best trout fishing in the Appalachians. Wildlife that call the forest home include black bears, whitetailed deer, red squirrels and hawks. Cold Mountain, a 6,030-foot peak made famous by Charles Frazier's bestselling novel, can also be found in the Pisgah National Forest, which is located approximately 62 miles Southeast of Cherokee. For more information about the Pisgah National Forest, visit www.cs.unca.edu/nfsnc.
