Champion Trees at Biltmore NOTE: $70 entry fee unless you have a pass

Let's see the Champion Trees of Biltmore. We are limiting attendees for this event due to the educational nature of the walk. Mark Schmidt will lead us on a walk from the Gardener's Cottage to see several of the Champion Trees in the Biltmore Gardens. Then we will drive to the Lagoon and see a few more. There will be about 3 miles of walking involved.

The group will meet at 4:00 at the Gardener's Cottage on the Biltmore Estate. This is the shop under the Conservatory past the house. There is ample parking in the gravel parking lot to the right if the paved lot is full.

The Forest Service gives champion status to trees based on a combination of trunk diameter, height, and crown spread. The bottom line is that the champion trees are: dawn redwood, golden-rain tree, the very interesting katsura, and Persian ironwood.

Other tree species included in the walk are a large ginkgo, bald cypress, bigleaf magnolias (yes, that’s really the name of a tree), a variety of buckeyes, winged sweetgum, hemlocks, hop hornbeam, bur oaks with giant acorns, cucumber magnolias, a magnificent white oak (Biltmore’s signature tree), pawpaws, longleaf pine, and hardy orange trees actually producing oranges.

You will need to carry water and walking sticks are highly recommended. Please be considerate and be quiet while the host is telling you about the flora and fauna that you came to see. Thank you.