Press release from United States Department of Agriculture Forest Service:
In alignment with current federal, state and local guidance for social distancing and to ensure health and safety of its employees, visitors and volunteers, Pisgah National Forest will temporarily shut down dispersed camping and the roads and trails listed below effective April 13, 2020.
Forest order number 08-11-07-20-071 prohibits being on certain roads and trails, entering or using a developed recreation site, or camping on the Pisgah National Forest until August 13, 2020, or until rescinded.
Other recreation opportunities on the Nantahala, Uwharrie, and Croatan National Forests in North Carolina remain available to the public. To protect public health and safety all visitors to the forest are encouraged to:
- Avoid visiting the forest if you are sick and/or experiencing COVID-19 symptoms.
- Follow CDC guidance on personal hygiene and social distancing before and during your visit to the forest.
- Take your trash with you when you leave. Trash overflowing the receptacles becomes litter and can be harmful to wildlife and attract predators.
- Please make arrangements to use the restroom before or after your visit to the forest. Unmanaged waste creates a health hazard for our employees and for other visitors.
- If an area is crowded, please search for a less occupied location. Also consider avoiding the forest during high-use periods.
The USDA Forest Service continues to assess and temporarily suspend access to recreation areas that attract large crowds and cannot meet social distancing guidelines. Visitors to national forests are urged to take the precautions recommended by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). For tips from the CDC on preventing illnesses like the coronavirus, go to: https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/about/prevention.html. Information from the U.S. Department of Agriculture is available at: www.usda.gov/coronavirus.
Roads
Appalachian Ranger District
FS Road # FS Road Name 63 Stony Fork Road 63A Hawksbill Creek Road 74 Big Ivy Road 472 South Toe River Road 472A Busick Road 2074 Neals Creek Road
Grandfather Ranger District
FS Road # FS Road Name 99 Table Rock Road 116 Mortimer R.A. Road 198 Chestnut Mountain Road 228 Steeles Creek Road 299 Brown Mountain Road 451 Marks Mountain 460 Old Fort Road 464A Lost Cove Road 482 Curtis Creek Road 496 New Gingercake Road 982 Mortimer Piedmont Road 2055 Boone Fork Road 4096 Carroll Creek Road 4101 Pearcy Creek Road
Pisgah Ranger District
FS Road # FS Road Name 97 Lickstone Road 140 Courthouse Creek Road 229 Pilot Mountain Road 475B Headwaters Road 477 Avery Creek Road 479 Bent Creek Road 481 Powhatan Access Road 816 Black Balsam Road 1206 Yellow Gap Road 5000 Wash Creek Road
Trails
Appalachian Ranger District
FS Trail # FS Trail Name 161 Big Butt 162 Douglas Falls 165 Walker Creek 166 Elk Pen 170 Snowball 173 Upper Corner Rock 174 Little Andy 175 Perkins 176 Bear Pen 179 Black Mountain Crest 182 Green Knob 183 Stair Creek 184 Laurel Gap 190 Mount Mitchell 191 Buncombe Horse 191A Big Tom Gap 195 Roaring Fork Falls 197 Setrock 200 River Loop 285 Fork Ridge 286 Jerry Miller 287 Green Ridge 292 Hickey Fork 293 Whiteoak 295 Roundtop Ridge 296 Shutin Creek 300 Cherry Creek 302 Cold Springs Horse 304 Buckeye Ridge Horse 306 Max Patch Loop 308 Lover’s Leap 308A Overmountain Victory Trail (from Roaring Creek to AT) 309 Pump Gap Loop 310 Laurel River 315 Groundhog Creek 440 Mountains to Sea 1003 Hemlock 1006 Briar Bottom N/A Elk Falls
Grandfather Ranger District
FS Trail # FS Trail Name BM1A Brown Mountain 1A BM1B Brown Mountain 1B BM2 Elliot Deer BM3 Sullivan’s Pass BM4 Kirby’s Loop BM5 Ned’s Knob BM6 Miller Circle BM7 Richard’s Bypass BM8 Brown Mountain 8 BM9 Brown Mountain 9 BM10 Brown Mountain 10 214 Falls Branch 225 Catawba Falls 233 Spence Ridge 235 Shortoff 236 Little Table Rock 242 Table Rock Summit 243 Table Rock Gap 248 Hawksbill N/A Linville Falls Access 268B Upper Creek
Pisgah Ranger District
FS Trail # FS Trail Name 101 Ivestor Gap 105 Daniel Ridge Loop 114 Looking Glass Rock 117 Slick Rock Falls 120 Cat Gap 132 North Face 146 Art Loeb – Davidson River to Joel Branch FSR5002 146 Art Loeb – Black Balsam Road FSR816 to Camp Daniel Boone 318 Moore Cove 329 Campground Connector 355 Mt. Pisgah 356 Graveyard Ridge 356A Graveyard Ridge 358 Graveyard Fields 358A Upper Falls 358B MST Access 363 Shining Creek 365 John Rock 499 Rainbow Falls 601 Sunwall 661 Hardtimes Gap 664 Deer Lake Lodge and FSR491
Recreation Sites
Appalachian Ranger District
AT Deer Park Shelter
AT Flint Mountain Shelter
AT Groundhog Creek Shelter
AT Hogback Ridge Shelter
AT Hot Springs Trailhead
AT Jerry Cabin Shelter
AT Little Laurel Shelter
AT Overmountain Shelter
AT Overmountain Victory Trailhead
AT Roaring Fork Shelter
AT Spivey Gap Trailhead
AT Stan Murray Shelter
Big Butt Trailhead
Black Mountain Campground
Briar Bottom Group Camp
Buncombe Horse Trailhead
Carolina Hemlocks Campground
Carolina Hemlocks Picnic Area
Carolina Hemlocks Trailhead
Corner Rock Trailhead/Big Ivy parking
Douglas Falls Trailhead
Elk River Falls Trailhead
Fork Ridge Trailhead
Harmon Den Horse Camp
Hickey Fork Trailhead
Laurel River Trailhead
Max Patch Pond
Max Path Trailhead
Murray Branch Picnic Area
Poplar Boat Launch
Roan Mountain
Rocky Bluff Campground
Shinbone Trailhead
Shope Creek Parking Area
Silvermine Trailhead
South Toe Trailhead (Mt. Mitchell Trailhead)
Stackhouse Boat Launch
Walker Creek Trailhead
Grandfather Ranger District
Boone Fork Pond
Brown Mountain OHV Trailhead
Brown Mountain Roadside Campsites
Catawba Falls Trailhead
Curtis Creek Campground
Curtis Creek Roadside Campsites
Hawksbill Trailhead
Linville Falls Trailhead
Linville Gorge Cabin
Mortimer Campground
Mortimer Picnic Area
Spence Ridge Trailhead
Tablerock Picnic Area and Trailhead
Toms Creek Falls Trailhead
Upper Creek Falls Trailhead
Wilson Creek Day Use Area (as indicated on map)
Wolfpit Trailhead
Pisgah Ranger District
Art Loeb Trailhead, Camp Daniel Boone
Art Loeb Trailhead, Davidson River
Art Loeb Trailhead, FSR816 Black Balsam
Avery Creek Roadside Campsites
Black Balsam Trailhead
Buckhorn Gap Shelter
Butter Gap Shelter
Campground Connector Trailhead
Cat Gap Trailhead
Cathy Creek Roadside Campsites
Coon Tree Picnic Area
Courthouse Falls Roadside Camping
Cove Creek Group Campground
Cradle of Forestry in America
Daniel Ridge Trailhead
Davidson River Campground
Deep Gap Shelter
Hardtimes Trailhead
Headwaters Roadside Campsites
Hendersonville Reservoir Road Roadside Campsites
Kuykendall Group Camp
Lake Powhatan Campground
Lake Powhatan Picnic Area
Lake Powhatan Swim Area
Ledford Branch Trailhead
Lickstone Dispersed Campsites
Looking Glass Falls
Looking Glass Falls Picnic Area
Looking Glass Rock Trailhead
Moore Cove Trailhead
North Face Trailhead
North Mills River Campground
North Mills River Picnic Area
Pink Beds Picnic Area
Pisgah Center for Wildlife Education
Pisgah Ranger Station Visitor Center
Rice Pinnacle Trailhead
Shining Creek Trailhead
Slick Rock Falls Trailhead
Sliding Rock Recreation Area
Stony Fork Picnic Area
Sunburst Campground
Sunburst Picnic Area
Sunwall Trailhead
Sycamore Flats
Upper Cove Creek Roadside Campsites
US276 Picnic Areas
Wash Creek Horse Camp
Wash Creek Roadside Campsites
White Pines Group Camp
Wolf Ford Horse Camp
Yellow Gap Roadside Campsites
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