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Balsam Mountains: Daniel Ridge |
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Location: Transylvania County, NC, 10 miles northwest of Brevard, Pisgah Ranger District, Pisgah National Forest
USGS Topographic Maps: Shining Rock, Sam Knob
This area lies along the Blue Ridge Parkway and east of NC Route 215 and consists of the ridges and streams that drop from the Parkway elevations down to the valley drainage of the Davidson River. Much-visited Devil's Couthouse, a nesting site of the endangered peregrine falcon, lies on the north, and just across the Parkway to the north are Graveyard Fields, Sam's Knob and the very popular blueberry/laurel balds of Tennant and Black Mountains, which are really extensions of the Shining Rock Wilderness.
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Approximate size:
12,982 acres
Old growth acreage:
2,149 acres |
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The Forest Service manages Daniel Ridge Area old growth," acknowledging the possibly virgin tracts in the higher elevation spruce/fir forest near the Parkway. There is an extensive trail system, including the Art Loeb Trail, (which runs from Cold Mountain in the Shining Rock Wilderness to the Davidson River Campground on U.S. Highway 276), and a portion of the Mountains-To-Sea Trail. It is prime territory for camping, hiking and mountain biking, and contains interesting remnants from logging days of the early 1900's, including moldering corduroy roads and old railroad trestles at creek crossings, plus the rare railroad spike and occasional logging cable.
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Forest Communities
Pisgah Ridge: Red Spruce Forest, Spruce-Northern Hardwood, Northern Hardwood (mesic and dry), Northern Hardwood Boulderfield, Rich Cove (small patch), Acidic Cove, High Elevation Northern red Oak, Mesic Oak, and Dry Oak.
Looking Glass Rock: Granitic Domes & Mossy Seeps, Acidic Cove, Dry Oak (in three variations), Montane Cedar-Hardwood Woodland (small patches on south facing slopes), Carolina Hemlock Bluff, Pine-Oak Heath, and Subxeric Pine.
Largest Diameter Tree of Its Kind in the Nantahala-Pisgah: Red spruce, 43 inches (Upper Chestnut Creek). The second largest red spruce was found in this same area at 42.6 inches.
Unusual Plants and Animals
Daniel Ridge is a mammal hot spot. Black bears are known to inhabit the area. Rich Northern Hardwood forests, such as those found near Seniard Mountain, may support unusual or rare herbs.
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