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graveyard fields LINKS: Orientation Photo Gallery Graveyard Fields Video Tour (1 minute)
Randy Burgess, US Forest Service District Ranger, calls the toilet paper remnants “Charmin Daiseys” i.e Charminus floribundum and the ubiquitous presence of evidence of this human waste byproduct at this popular Blue Ridge Parkway destination raises questions about water quality and public health for this headwater source of the Pigeon River.
On any given weekend during the Parkway’s high season, parking at this popular overlook south of Mt. Pisgah extends onto the Blue Ridge Parkway motor road. “Safety and access have become important concerns for us,” states Don Coleman, the supervising park ranger for the Asheville south district. “We want to do the best job we can to insure our visitors have a safe and enjoyable access to this unique area.”
Adding a restroom was an early obvious proposed solution but other challenges paint a more complicated picture – unfavorable sightlines for approaching vehicles, speed limit, vandalism, limited parking, erosion control, trail compaction, frequent search and rescue incidences, high popularity, prime blueberry picking, two scenic waterfalls, dispersed undesignated camping, less than adequate signage, a unique almost alpine environment.
Looking towards Tennant Mountain from Graveyard Fields, photo courtesy of the Blue Ridge Parkway Foundation “A project like Graveyard Fields is right up our alley”, states Houck Medford, executive director of the Blue Ridge Parkway Foundation which provides philanthropic support to the Blue Ridge Parkway. “Supporting this project is a natural for us and it meets our funding criteria of having a lasting value and enhancing the quality of the visitor’s experience. The project will be a natural for the public to embrace because everyone loves Graveyard Fields.”
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"Charminus floribundum", photo courtesy of the Blue Ridge Parkway Foundation
"Lower Falls", photo courtesy of LandDesign
Graffitti on new staircase, photo courtesy of LandDesign 
Public and philanthropic interest in funding a study and improvements at Graveyard Fields are just beginning to blossom. LandDesign, an international urban design, planning, civil engineering, and landscape architecture firm with offices in Asheville, has contributed all the early professional hours to generate a charrette study with national park, forest service, and foundation staff. Stephanie Pankiewicz , senior associate and landscape architect for the firm said, “Graveyard Fields is close to many hearts in western North Carolina, we are privileged that we could provide the energy to get the project going.”
