At 5721', Mt Pisgah is a great hike and a great place to broadcast television signal. The 339' tower is over 6000' at the top. My hike was 1.6 miles up to the tower. I thought there would be an access road to service the tower but after searching I could not find one. The tower is serviced via a cable car or funicular. A controversy arose in 2016 after a couple of PBS employees rode the cable car and then filed a complaint with the NC Dept of Labor. The complaint resulted in a shutdown order which the owner's company ignored. It turns out the funicular had been operating without ever obtaining a permit. Then there was the employee whom was stranded in 2 feet of snow when the funicular stopped operating. A massive rescue effort ensued. Things must have gotten sorted out since it is still operational today.
Here it is from the trailhead
Just 1.6 miles from the trailhead to the tower, the trail climbs over 700 feet. The last 1/3 is essentially a stone staircase. Now part of the Pisgah National Forest, the area was once part of the George Vanderbilt estate. The trailhead I hiked from also had a trail headed down to the site of the Buck Springs Lodge. The Vanderbilts built and used it for private hunting parties.
From the National Park website:
The term “hunting lodge” conjures up images of rough-and-rustic living. Buck Spring Lodge was anything but. Designed by the same company that had just completed the Biltmore Estate, Vanderbilt’s summer getaway was a grand affair. Made of rot-resistant American chestnut, it was inspired by the Adirondack camps of the day. Not only was the Main Lodge two levels with several rooms, it had a covered walkway to the adjacent Midway Cottage and the separate Dining-Kitchen building. Staff had their own quarters near the entrance. There was an orchard, beehives, livestock, a garden, and the grounds were kept trim by an entire team. An entire team of sheep, that is!
Vanderbilt stocked the forests surrounding Buck Spring with deer, bear, and turkey. The streams were stocked with fish. Some of their descendants are still roaming around today! After a day’s hunting, hiking, or playing on the tennis court, guests would return to freshen up and don formal attire for dinner.
There were several ways to get to the lodge, including riding horseback from the Biltmore Estate in Asheville on the Shut-In Trail. Named “Shut-In” for the enclosed feeling of the surrounding rhododendrons, it traveled roughly 16 miles from the French Broad River along the ridge line to the lodge. Today, it has been incorporated into the Mountains-to-Sea Trail. But riding horseback isn’t always the most comfortable way to travel. Starting in 1910, guests with automobiles could drive up in style, using a single lane road that later became NC 151.
There were several ways to get to the lodge, including riding horseback from the Biltmore Estate in Asheville on the Shut-In Trail. Named “Shut-In” for the enclosed feeling of the surrounding rhododendrons, it traveled roughly 16 miles from the French Broad River along the ridge line to the lodge. Today, it has been incorporated into the Mountains-to-Sea Trail. But riding horseback isn’t always the most comfortable way to travel. Starting in 1910, guests with automobiles could drive up in style, using a single lane road that later became NC 151.
Soon after, the lodge was sold to the State of North Carolina. The State then transferred the land to the U.S. Department of Interior so that construction of the Blue Ridge Parkway could continue through the area. Unfortunately, the buildings of Buck Spring Lodge were removed or knocked down.
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