DuPont State Recreational Forest, commonly known as DuPont Forest, is a

state forest A state forest or national forest is a forest that is administered or protected by a sovereign state, sovereign or federated state, or territory (country subdivision), territory. Background State forests are forests that are Administration (gov ...

, located in

Henderson Henderson may refer to: People *Henderson (surname), description of the surname, and a list of people with the surname * Clan Henderson, a Scottish clan Places Argentina *Henderson, Buenos Aires Australia *Henderson, Western Australia Canada *H ...

and

Transylvania Transylvania ( or ; ; or ; Transylvanian Saxon dialect, Transylvanian Saxon: ''Siweberjen'') is a List of historical regions of Central Europe, historical and cultural region in Central Europe, encompassing central Romania. To the east and ...

counties of

North Carolina North Carolina ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, South Carolina to the south, Georgia (U.S. stat ...

. The name originates from the fact that the

DuPont Dupont, DuPont, Du Pont, duPont, or du Pont may refer to: People * Dupont (surname) Dupont, also spelled as DuPont, duPont, Du Pont, or du Pont is a French surname meaning "of the bridge", historically indicating that the holder of the surname re ...

company arranged the sale of the original tract to the state. Adjacent tracts have since been purchased and added to the state forest. Portions of the forest formerly contained a manufacturing facility for the production of X-ray film. The forest was used to shoot scenes from the 1992 film ''

The Last of the Mohicans ''The Last of the Mohicans: A Narrative of 1757'' is an 1826 historical romance novel by James Fenimore Cooper. It is the second book of the '' Leatherstocking Tales'' pentalogy and the best known to contemporary audiences. '' The Pathfinder'', ...

'' as well as the 2012 box office hit ''

The Hunger Games ''The Hunger Games'' are a series of Young adult fiction, young adult Dystopian fiction, dystopian novels written by American author Suzanne Collins. The series consists of a trilogy that follows teenage protagonist Katniss Everdeen, and two ...

''. On February 12, 2019, the forest added from Conserving Carolina, part of a section called the

Continental Divide A continental divide is a drainage divide on a continent such that the drainage basin on one side of the divide feeds into one ocean or sea, and the basin on the other side either feeds into a different ocean or sea, or else is endorheic, not ...

Tract that connects with other public lands. was added to the forest in 2019.

History

Before 1996, the area that is DuPont state forest today, known as Buck Forest, was owned by

Dupont Dupont, DuPont, Du Pont, duPont, or du Pont may refer to: People * Dupont (surname) Dupont, also spelled as DuPont, duPont, Du Pont, or du Pont is a French surname meaning "of the bridge", historically indicating that the holder of the surname re ...

, who ran a plant on the property, until it was sold to Sterling Diagnostic Imaging. The remainder of the land was sold to the state of North Carolina, which created DuPont State Forest. However, the original state forest was much smaller than it is today. Later, in 2000, were added to the forest. In 1999, Sterling held a private bid for out of the the company had acquired. The state and several conservation groups tried to obtain it, but were unsuccessful. The property was eventually acquired by a developer named Jim Anthony. When the property was sold, Sterling prohibited the land from being used for private development. Anthony stated that he was not planning to develop the property, even though it was obvious based on the improvements he was making to the property. The conservation groups also learned around this time that the restrictions were unenforceable, and that the Landowner could do whatever they wanted with the land. Despite the efforts of the conservation groups, Anthony continued to develop the property, and eventually divided it into lots. Following this, on October 23, 2000, Governor

Jim Hunt James Baxter Hunt Jr. (born May 16, 1937) is an American politician and retired attorney who was the List of governors of North Carolina, 69th and 71st governor of North Carolina (1977–1985, and 1993–2001). He is the longest-serving governo ...

and the

North Carolina Council of State The North Carolina Council of State is the collective body of ten elective executive offices in the government of North Carolina, state government of North Carolina, all of which are established by the Constitution of North Carolina, state co ...

voted to condemn the property. The state paid Anthony $24 million

USD The United States dollar (symbol: $; currency code: USD) is the official currency of the United States and several other countries. The Coinage Act of 1792 introduced the U.S. dollar at par with the Spanish silver dollar, divided it int ...

for the property, then it was absorbed into DuPont State Forest. In 2019, Conserving Carolina gave the forest several hundred acres of land in the continental divide tract.

Recreation

Nearly of multi-use trails and roads thread through the forest. The forest is widely used for many recreational activities, including

mountain biking Mountain biking (MTB) is a sport of riding bicycles off-road, often over rough terrain, usually using specially designed mountain bikes. Mountain bikes share similarities with other bikes but incorporate features designed to enhance durability ...

, hiking, horseback riding, swimming (where permitted), wading, and kayaking. Destinations include mountaintop views (such as from the summit of Stone Mountain, and Cedar Rock), lakes (such as Lake Imaging, Lake Julia, Lake Dense, and Fawn Lake), and waterfalls, including: * Bridal Veil Falls * Grassy Creek Falls * High Falls * Hooker Falls * Triple Falls * Wintergreen Falls Popular mountain biking trails include Ridgeline, Big Rock, Cedar Rock, and Airstrip trails. The Airstrip trail starts from near a small unused (or emergency use) airplane landing area. The Ridgeline trail is particularly noted for its long continuous, winding and uninterrupted run, with a mild downhill grade. File:Big Rock Summit 02.jpg, View from "Big Rock" File:Cedar Rock Summit 04.jpg, Near Cedar Rock summit (elevation ),Trail Guide, DuPont State Forest Recreational Forest, 3rd edition. Pisgah Map Company, 2015. . at intersection of Cedar Rock and Big Rock trails

Nearby state parks

The following state parks and state forests are within of DuPont State Recreational Forest: *

Caesars Head State Park Caesars Head State Park is a park in northern Greenville County, South Carolina, that borders Transylvania County, North Carolina, and is reached via US 276. The eponymous rock formation, one of the highest points in Greenville County, is a gra ...

(

South Carolina South Carolina ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders North Carolina to the north and northeast, the Atlantic Ocean to the southeast, and Georgia (U.S. state), Georg ...

) *

Chimney Rock State Park Chimney Rock State Park is a North Carolina state park in Chimney Rock, Rutherford County, North Carolina in the United States. The park is located southeast of Asheville, North Carolina, and is owned and managed by the state of North Caroli ...

(North Carolina) * Devils Fork State Park (South Carolina) *

Gorges State Park Gorges State Park is a List of North Carolina state parks, North Carolina state park in Transylvania County, North Carolina, Transylvania County, North Carolina in the United States and along with other conservation lands is part of a 100,000+ a ...

(North Carolina) *

Headwaters State Forest Headwaters State Forest is a state forest, located in Transylvania County, North Carolina, along the South Carolina state line and is part of a larger 100,000+ acre conservation corridor that stretches some 80 miles along the state line. Th ...

(North Carolina) *

Holmes Educational State Forest Holmes Educational State Forest (HESF) is a state forest, located in Henderson County, North Carolina. It is near the much larger DuPont State Recreational Forest, which is responsible for its management. The forest is in the Blue Ridge Moun ...

(North Carolina) * Horsepasture State Natural River (North Carolina) *

Jones Gap State Park Jones Gap State Park is a South Carolina state park in northern Greenville County, near Marietta, South Carolina, Marietta. The park, which includes the headwaters of the Middle Saluda River, is, with Caesars Head State Park, administered by t ...

(South Carolina) * Keowee-Toxaway State Park (South Carolina) * Paris Mountain State Park (South Carolina) * Pisgah View State Park (North Carolina) * Poe Creek State Forest (South Carolina) * Table Rock State Park (South Carolina)

References

External links

*
Friends of DuPont Forest website
{{Authority control North Carolina state forests State forests of the Appalachians Protected areas of Henderson County, North Carolina Protected areas of Transylvania County, North Carolina Mountain biking in the United States Protected areas established in 1997 1997 establishments in North Carolina

History

Recreation

Nearby state parks

See also

References

External links