The half-mil­lion+ acres of Pis­gah Nation­al For­est drape like a cloak around the Asheville area and pro­vide easy access to some of the most dra­mat­ic scenery and out­stand­ing recre­ation­al oppor­tu­ni­ties in the Blue Ridge Moun­tains. Pis­gah Nation­al For­est is named after Mt. Pis­gah, a 5000 foot high peak locat­ed at Blue Ridge Park­way mile­post 407, near the Cold Moun­tain of book and movie fame. Pis­gah Nation­al For­est became the first Nation­al For­est in the east­ern Unit­ed States in 1916. The Pis­gah Nation­al For­est offers excel­lent recre­ation­al oppor­tu­ni­ties year-round. Con­tain­ing over a thou­sand miles of trails and wilder­ness areas, it is a hiker’s dream in any sea­son. In warmer weath­er, its rivers and streams pro­vide excel­lent fish­ing, boat­ing, and white­wa­ter sports, while high moun­tain peaks and deep gorges call to rock climbers and moun­tain bik­ers. Camp­ing facil­i­ties range from full ser­vice RV sites to prim­i­tive camps. In the fall, Moth­er Nature’s col­or­ful show brings leaf-peep­­ers by the thou­sands, and in win­ter, the snow-cov­­ered slopes in the far north­east­ern cor­ner of the Pis­gah Nation­al For­est beck­on skiers. Three fish hatch­eries in the Nation­al For­est raise more than a half mil­lion brook, brown, and rain­bow trout annu­al­ly which are used to stock pub­lic moun­tain trout waters in the North Car­oli­na moun­tains.