We will be sampling our maple syrup and will have coffee and hot chocolate available to help our visitors stay warm.

Admission fee is $5.00 for adults, children under 12 are free.

We hope to see you there!

We will be sampling our maple syrup and will have coffee and hot chocolate available to help our visitors stay warm.

Admission fee is $5.00 for adults, children under 12 are free.

We hope to see you there!

Two creeks flow through the property, including Lickskillet Creek, which flows for 900 ft. between the two parcels. We hope to put a micro-hydroelectric system on this creek.

Lickskillet Road follows the creek, dividing the Farm into the two portions, which we call the Northside and the Southside. The property rises steeply on both sides of the valley, starting at 3,000 ft. above sea level, and rising to nearly 4,000 ft. at the peak on the Northside and the top of the ridge on the Southside. From most of the Southside of the farm, a dramatic view looking down the valley frames the Black Mountain Range and Mount Mitchell, the highest mountain in the eastern United States.

The Northside is primarily woodland with about three acres of tillable mostly flat land and another five acres of pasture along the lower slope of the mountain. A small portion of the Northside is a state- and globally-rare "Rich Montane Seep" wetland bog that will be included in a forever-wild conservation easement that is planned for the property. The remaining woodlands will be used for forest-based agricultural and selective timber production, with the lower hillsides used for pasture and/or orchard, and the tillable flat land used for crop production. An old heirloom apple orchard is located near the wetland bog. Harris Branch (also a NC registered trout stream) flows along the eastern boundary of the Northside for 1,400 ft.

A stone chimney and barn are all that is left of an old homestead, located at the very bottom of the Northside, adjoining Lickskillet Road.

The Southside parcel has more varied landforms, with a four-acre hayfield, about 18 acres of pasture, with several acres of reasonably flat and tillable ground. A portion of this parcel, located near the top of the ridge, has three overhanging grotto caves, a 65-foot cliff, three or four acres of old-growth forest, all included in "Montane Mafic Cliffs and Outcrops" and “Rich Cove-Boulderfield Forest” environments, which are classified as "rare" by the North Carolina Natural Heritage Program. According to the NCNHP, fewer than twenty Mafic Cliff environments are known in the Southern Mountains.

Many native herbs grow in this area, including Bloodroot, Black Cohosh, Blue Cohosh, Wild Ginger, Wild Licorice, Squawroot, Mayapple, Spiderwort, Chickory, Coltsfoot, and Ramps, as well as six state-listed rare plant species: Carolina Waterleaf, Large Waterleaf, Golden Saxifrage, Mountian Starflower, Southern Nodding Trillium, and Appalachian Joe Pye.

Woodland wildflowers include the uncommon Maidenhair Spleenwort, Mossy Stonecrop, Carolina Saxifrage, Squirrel Corn, Alumroot, Sweet Cicely, Largeflower/Wakerobin/Southern Trilliums, Crepping Phlox, Bee Balm, Giant Coneflower, Maidenhair Fern, Solomon's Seal, Appalachian Sedge, Jack-in-the-Pulpit, and several varieties of Violets, Waterleafs, and Ferns. Many Moss, Lichen, and Sedge species are common in these areas as well. Goldenrod, Ironweed, Burdock, Pokeweed, Yarrow, Chickweed, Blackberry, Wingstem, and numerous Astor species are common in the pastures and meadows.

Tree species on the property include Sugar Maple, Black Walnut, Black Locust, Tulip Poplar, Buckeye, White Ash, Black Cherry, Basswood, Cucumber Tree, Northern Red Oak, Black Birch, Silverbell, Bitternut Hickory, Canada Hemlock, Dogwood, Crabapple, Red Mulberry, Sycamore, White Pine, White and Black Oak and Sassafras, as well as the largest known Eastern Hophornbeam in North Carolina. Mountain Laurel, Rosebay Rhododendron, Flame Azalea, Spicebush, Wild Hydrangea, Gooseberry, Elderberry and Buffalo Nut shrubs grow throughout the property.

We plan to include the rare Montane Mafic Cliffs and Outcrops, Rich Cove-Boulderfield Forest, and Rich Montane Seep environments in a forever-wild conservation easement, with interpretive trails leading from a second heirloom apple orchard located in a cove near the top of this parcel to the caves, cliff, and grandfather trees.

Over fifty species of birds have been identified on the property, including the Indigo Bunting, Pileated Woodpecker, Red Tailed Hawk, Rose-Breasted Grosbeak, Scarlet Tanager, Yellow-billed Cuckoo, Ruffed Grouse, Wild Turkey, and several species of Warbler, including the Cerulean Warbler. Wild mammals include Black Bear, White-Tailed Deer, Raccoon, Eastern Chipmunk, Eastern Grey, Red and Flying Squirrels, and the ubiquitous Coyote. Spring Peeper and Green Tree Frogs live on the land, as well as several species of Salamander and the Eastern Box Turtle. Seventeen species of Butterflies have also been indentified on the farm.

The farmhouse is located near the bottom of the Southside along with a shop/garage and another barn. Across the road is the recently completed "Sugar Shack" syrup processing building.

Two more barns are located higher on the Southside, near an old cabin that we believe to be over 100 years old. We plan on renovating the old cabin into a guest lodge for eco- and agri-tourism use.

Maple Creek Farm is the furthest southern commercial producer of maple syrup in the US, and the only one located in North Carolina. Our "sugar bush" consists of two stands, each with more than 200 Sugar Maple trees, located on the north and east facing slopes of two mountainsides. The stands are high on the slopes between 3,100 and 3,900 feet in elevation. We currently have about 600 taps in about 450 trees. Over four miles of tubing and piping carries the maple sap from the trees down the mountain to the "sugar shack" in the valley between the mountains. The sap all moves by gravity, which along with rocks, we have an abundance of on the farm (note the slope in the picture below).

In a good year, one tap will generally produce around one quart of maple syrup.

We use a traditional wood-fired evaporator which came from New Hampshire, which is housed in a new "sugar shack" which we recently completed.

While maple syrup producers up north are still warming thier feet by the fire (and digging out from under the snow), we are boiling syrup. This far south, the sap starts to flow in early January. And when the sap flows, we start cooking, because the sap will spoil quickly if it is not processed.

The evaporator uses a continuous flow process, where sap trickles in at one end of the evaporator, and flows through a serpentine (syrupentine?) path to the other end of the evaporator, where it is "drawn off" as syrup when the sugar concentration is correct.

From when the evaporator is started up, the first "draw" of syrup comes after about 16 hours of boiling. 

Thereafter, we draw off about two gallons of syrup every three hours. 

After filtering, the piping hot maple syrup is immediately filled into glass jars. It doesn't get any purer or fresher than that!

On February 25th and 26th of 2012, we will host our fourth annual Maple Syrup Tour.

Last year, over 400 people came out to the farm over the weekend to see the maple syrup boiling down, hike up through the "sugar bush" to see the taps and tubing, and visit with our donkeys.  

This year we will be open from 11-4 both days.  We will be leading tours of the farm on the hour, and offering samples of syrup and maple sausage.  Admission: $5  (Children under 12 free)  VISITORS SHOULD WEAR BOOTS.  Please check this site as the date approaches for more information.  Parking is limited (and muddy) so please carpool if possible.  Click here for Directions to the Farm.

Appalachian Sustainable Agriculture Project (ASAP)

ASAP helps create and expand local food markets that will preserve our agricultural heritage, give everyone access to fresh, healthy food, and keep our farmers farming. Our mission is to collaboratively create and expand regional community based and integrated food systems that are locally owned and controlled, environmentally sound, economically viable, and health-promoting. Search our Local Food Guide. Shop for Appalachian Grown certified products. Get involved in the Growing Minds Farm to School program. Visit a farmers market. Browse our information on workshops, grants, and more. Use our classified section, calendar, and online resources.  Whether you're a farmer, consumer, or work with a school, restaurant, or grocer, join us in reconnecting people throughout the region with their food.

Slow Food - Asheville

Slow Food is an educational organization dedicated to preserving food traditions, celebrating the pleasures of the table, and embracing a slower, more harmonious rhythm of life. Here in Asheville, our local Slow Food Convivium is blessed with an abundance of tailgate markets, organic growers, food artisans, and incredible restaurants. We use tastings, field trips, and various kinds of food-centered celebrations to explore authentic flavors... and to slow down and enjoy a world of good food and good company.

Blue Ridge Food Ventures

Blue Ridge Food Ventures is a shared-use, value-added food processing center centrally located in Asheville to serve food entrepreneurs in western North Carolina. It provides services to those wishing to start or grow small businesses in the food industry, to local farmers who wish to add value to their products through processing, and to caterers and bakers needing a certified kitchen. This regional "kitchen incubator", a first for North Carolina, joins others throughout the US in spurring the development of small businesses, promoting local agriculture and creating jobs.

Carolina Farm Stewardship Association

Organic Growers School

**  We do not have regular hours and are frequently away from the farm.  Please contact us before your visit to make sure someone will be able to meet you.  Thanks.  **

From Asheville, NC:

Follow I-26 W north for 17 miles

Take Exit 9 towards Burnsville on US Hwy 19

Follow US 19 for 9-1/2 miles

Look for a new Fire Station and Old Stone School on right at the Bald Creek Community

Turn left on Lickskillet Road

Follow Lickskillet Road for 2 miles to the end of the pavement

You have arrive at Maple Creek Farm!