Several years ago we took our first trip to North Carolina. This was a surprise trip for me since my husband picked up a deal on Groupon. Is Groupon still a thing? We headed out driving northeast for about 7 hours on our way to Pisgah View Ranch in Candler, North Carolina. Pisgah View Ranch was advertised as a Dude Ranch overlooking the Pisgah Mountains and it did not disappoint! 

The ranch has been in the Turner & Cogburn family since 1790. Mr. Ben Turner built the original log cabin still on the property. In 1941 owner and descendant Mrs. Turner Davis sold the property to her son-in-law a prominent lawyer from Canton who planned to modernize and make it a true tourist attraction. The ranch was opened to the public in 1941 by Ruby and Chester Cogburn, the Ranch at the time of our visit was owned by the children of Max Cogburn, Sr., and their Mother Mary.

After arriving we settled into our cabin which was one of several available to visitors. We were told that the cabins at one time were used to house Blue Ridge Parkway workers back in the 1930s when it was known as Pisgah View House. Since that time all the cabins on the property were converted to guest houses and many other cabins were built to house tourist guests. Several years prior and up to 1941 the home also housed a youth hostel which was part of the Asheville loop.

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We settled in for our stay and on the next day, I was surprised with horseback riding! We walked down to the stables and saddled up for our trail-riding adventure on horseback.

What prompted this post?

In 2021 after COVID-19 restrictions seemed to be easing back I looked into scheduling a visit back to Pisgah View Ranch. I found out they were still closed due to COVID-19. Fast-forward to 2024 and their website no longer exists so I do a little research to find out what happened and on their Facebook, I see that the ranch is permanently closed. Seeing this I did a little research and found that beginning around 2019 the family had started negotiations with the state of North Carolina for selling the property to the state for the construction of the future Pisgah View State Park. The state has plans for the property and maybe the “ranch” or what is left will be open to the public in the next few years. More information on the future of the park can be found at the https://appalachian.org/update-pisgah-view-state-park/

I’m glad we got to experience Pisgah View Ranch when we did and I look forward to seeing what the state does with the property.