Stays are limited to three days and two nights, and groups are not permitted to exceed 10 people. Admission is free. Call the U.S. Forest Service at 652-2144. At Blue Ridge Parkway milepost 331 features more than 300 varieties of minerals. Open 9 a.m.-5 p.m. daily.
Admission is free.
At milepost 355 on the Blue Ridge Parkway, is the highest peak east of the Mississippi. Open year-round except Christmas. At the edge of the Pisgah National Forest a short distance from Interstates 26 and 40 in Bent Creek, features a visitor education center, greenhouse complex, gardens and loop trail on 424 acres. Open mid-May through late October, recreates a Cherokee community hundreds of years old. Admission is charged.