The festival always takes place toward the end of June, when the huge and showy (5 inches wide or more) pinkish purplish blossoms of the Catawba rhododendron reach their peak. This year, the festival will take place Saturday and Sunday from 10 a.m.-5 p.m. each day.The festival also features crafters, folkway demonstrations, musicians and a variety of festival food and drink. Admission to the festival is free, however, a donation is asked for parking.
There is usually a fee for entering the rhododendron gardens at the top of the Roan, but that will not be the case this year because of a major construction project to replace many of the structures, including the restrooms and overlooks and repaving the trails through the rhododendron.
Because the construction has decreased the usually ample parking, Pisgah National Forest’s Appalachian District Ranger Tina Tilley asked that large groups plan on carpooling.
The construction will close the gardens after July 7 this year, but Tilley said next year’s visitors “will be pleasantly surprised” by all the improvements.
For the shortened season this year, Tilley said blooms should be near their peak this weekend, but she said the blooms are not as spectacular this year as some years.
“The numbers are not as great as last year,” Tilley said. “They are putting on more leaves this year instead of putting energy into blooms. This is a cyclic and weather-related thing, but we are still looking forward to the blooms.”
For more information on Roan Mountain, as well as the hike out to Grassy Ridge Bald, please click here.
Jeff
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