Sliding Rock, NC
(IMAGE SOURCE: GOOGLE)
(IMAGE SOURCE: GOOGLE)
Sliding Rock is a naturally occurring 60-foot waterfall/slide with a seven-foot deep pool at the end, it has been declared by the US Forest Service a recreation area. It is located in the Pisgah National Forest in North Carolina's Brevard County on Looking Glass Creek. The Rock as long been used as a slide by adventureous tourists and locals.The place is extremely popular on hot summer weekends as the cold water offers an escape from the simmering heat. But, as the pictures below show, there are those willing to slide even on cool fall weekends. You can either slide yourself or watch others do it from an observation deck opposite the slide.
(IMAGE SOURCE: GOOGLE)
----Parking: You'd thought it would be a problem right? Well nope, turns out there is a large parking lot above the Rock and there is no charge!!
------Fees: To my knowledge there is a small fee to enter the recreational area. I believe its like $2-$5 charged by the Forest Service Department, and a lifeguard is on duty especially on those Hott Summer Weekends.
----Age/Height: Children must be 9 years old and over 3.5' otherwise, children may slide in the lap of an adult.
----Changing/Restrooms: restrooms and changing rooms are available but only from Memorial Day to Labor Day, and the Rock is closed to sliders during times of high water or when lightning is detected.
---Lifeguard: A life guard is on duty but only during high peak seasons, specially on the summer weekends. Other times sliding down the waterfall is done at the visitor's own risk.
(IMAGE SOURCE: GOOGLE)
Directions: There is no street sign or address to the Rock, so how to find the place?
Its relatively easy if you have a GPS or some printed directions, simply type the name " Sliding Rock"and or "Pisgah National Forest" as the end point. And if you do not have a GPS, then, travel North on Hwy 276 for about 8 miles in Brevard, NC and your there, Hope you enjoy!!!
What is Pisgah?
In this section I will explain the history and the importance of the Pisgah National Forest.
PISGAH NATIONAL FOREST, NORTH CAROLINA
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- A Brief HISTORY:
(Image Source: Google)
When George Vanderbilt started construction of the Biltmore Estate in 1890s, he wanted to establish a Forest reserve as part of the Biltmore Estate. Then in 1898, Gilford Pinchot and George Vanderbilt established the nation's first School of Forestry on the Biltmore Estate land in Transylvania County, known as the Biltmore Forest School. The name "Pisgah" was coined by Reverend James Hall during the General Grifith Rutherford March to eradicate the Cherokees in 1776. Hall remarked about the mountains of Buncombe County, NC in reference to the biblical peak where Moses viewed the promised land, so he called that mount Pisgah and it has retained the name ever since. However, the Biltmore Forest School failed to survive past 1910. Below is a replica of the original Biltmore Forest School of 1898.
(IMAGE SOURCE: GOOGLE)
-------1911: The government passed the Weeks Act, allowing the National Park Service to buy up lad on the eastern seaboard for conservation and public use.
(IMAGE SOURCE: GOOGLE.)
-------1915: By the mid 1910s Mr. Vanderbilt has passed away and the upkeep of the Biltmore Estate fell on his widow wife. Four years after the 1911 Weeks Act, Mrs. Vanderbilt sold 86,700 Acres of Forest land to the US Government The Vanderbilts sold the Federal government 86,700 Acres of Forest land which became the Pisgah National Forest.
(IMAGE SOURCE: GOOGLE)
Pisgah National Forest became the United State's First National Forest Park, the first land tract purchased under the 1911 Weeks Act. Now, the area comprises of about 510,000 Acres of Lush green land and mountains, streams and dense forests. Due to its large size the Pisgah National Forest encompasses 15 North Carolina coutnies and is divided into three districts. The Grandfather District, the Appalachian District and the Pisgah District.
(IMAGE SOURCE: GOOGLE)
(IMAGE SOURCE: GOOGLE)
A view of the Linville River from Chimney view lookout point in the Linville Gorge area of Pisgah National Forest.
(IMAGE SOURCE: GOOGLE)
Hope you enjoyed reading the article as much as I enjoyed writing it. In my next Blog i'll go into more details of the 3 districts of the Pisgah national Forest. Thank you.
