The Blue Ridge Mountains are home to a very unique creature that some say resembles a collection of fairies carrying blue candles through the forest.  The Blue Ghost Firefly (Phausis reticulata) is a secretive, hard-to-find native insect that calls our area home, and for a very short amount of time in late Spring, they inhabit our surrounding woodlands of Transylvania County.  You’ll experience an educational presentation at our outdoor amphitheater starting at 8:45 pm and then use the cover of darkness and special flashlights to go in search of the Blue Ghost fireflies while hiking on a paved trail through the forest. Team members will be stationed at key locations around the trail to provide further information about this amazing natural phenomenon. Please feel free to congregate near these areas with your fellow firefly enthusiasts, or go explore on your own! We require everyone to stay on the trail to prevent habitat damage, and team members will clear the trail and require everyone to depart by…

The festival is an activity-filled, family event that commemorates the traditions of mountain living and craft in a unique and beautiful setting. Festival-goers will cheer as college forestry students compete during the John G. Palmer Woodsmen’s Meet that has the flavor of an old-time lumberjack competition. Competitors representing forestry schools throughout the country test their skills in a number of events including archery, axe throwing, crosscut sawing and pole felling. Participating schools will be announced closer to the event date.

National Public Lands Day (NPLD) is the nation’s largest single-day volunteer event for public lands. NPLD is also a “Fee-Free Day”—one of only five days a year when entrance fees are waived at national parks and other public lands. Because of this everyone can enjoy the Cradle of Forestry for FREE this day! Come explore our exhibit hall, film, gift shop and over 3 miles of paved hiking trails featuring seven historical buildings from the time of the first forestry school in America, the Biltmore Forest School. Our film, First in Forestry plays every half hour. Come explore all the magic the Cradle of Forestry has to offer!