Before the blight, roughly one tree in four in a forest like this one was American chestnut.
In forests like these, Renfro says, American chestnut once accounted for roughly a quarter of the trees. Blight from Asia functionally removed it from the canopy. The roots survived, and sprouts still rise and turn brilliant yellow each fall, but oaks largely filled the niche chestnut left behind. From the first view on the Whiteside Mountain
Trail, Renfro points northeast toward Cashiers: “When you hike the Whiteside Mountain Trail The autumn forest we recognize today is already a changed one.
FALL 2026
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