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Want to see a unique piece of history in North Carolina?
The Pisgah Covered Bridge, located just south of Asboro, is a neat piece of old timey Americana, and it has a nice little walking trail and swimming hole.
We stopped here while doing a road trip, and thought it was definitely worth it.
I’ll share details of what we enjoyed about it, some history behind the bridge, and tips on getting there in this guide to visiting the Historic Pisgah Covered Bridge.
Where is the Pisgah Covered Bridge?
Why in Pisgah, of course!
Actually, it’s just west of the little town of Pisgah, North Carolina, and crosses the west fork of the Little River, on the Northeastern edge of the Uwharrie Naitonal Forest.
Ok, your next question is assuredly, where is Pisgah?
A bit confusingly, Pisgah is not located in Pisgah National Forest. It’s actually located well to the West.
It’s located about 15 miles south of Ashboro, not far from Highway 134 and I-74.
It makes for a great roadside stop if traveling through the area, and is farily accessible from Charlotte, Winston-Salem, Greensboro, Raleigh, Durham, and Fayetteville.
History of the Pisgah Covered Bridge
The bridge dates to 1911, when it was built by JJ Welch for a whopping $40!
Yikes, it hurts to write that, since you can barely get lunch for that price nowadays!
Anyways, the bridge remained in use until the 1950s, when a larger bridge was built next to it to accommodate the increased traffic.
The bridge is believed to have had a shingled roof that was replaced with tin in the 1930s.
The bridge was actually washed away in a flood in August 2003.
Fortunately, much of the bridge remained semi-intact and only washed away 50 feet, and it was rebuilt using 90% of the original recovered materials.
It reopened by May 2004.
Kudos to the volunteers who recovered the pieces as it’s the kind of thing that could have easily just been lost forever, by the way!
In a nice touch, the restored bridge has a shingled roof, like the original 1911 build.
The bridge is on the National Register of Historic Places and is also considered a local landmark.
It is administered and maintained today by a partnership between the North Carolina Zoo Association, the North Carolina Department of Transportation, the Piedmont Land Conservancy, and the Land Trust for Central North Carolina.
It is one of only two covered bridges remaining in North Carolina and one of only a small handful of covered bridges that both remain and are open to the public to visit today.
Our Visit to the Pisgah Covered Bridge
We actually stopped here on a road trip up to the North Carolina Zoo in Ashboro from our home town of Columbia, SC (this site is called South Carolina Explorer, after all).
Our daughter Aaliyah absolutely loves elephants.
Our hometown Riverbanks Zoo, which we love, unfortunately no longer has them. Ever since Aaliyah first saw a live elephant at Disney’s Animal Kingdom, we had been on the hunt for a zoo nearby that has them, and Ashboro’s North Carolina Zoo was the closest to us in Columbia.
By the way, we were really impressed with the North Carolina Zoo!
It’s massive, has really cool, mostly open habitats that feel about as humane as zoos get, and was honestly fairly cheap.
And Aaliyah loved the elephants, plus lots of other animals that were firsts for her, like a polar bear, chimps, and puffins.
Seriously, it’s a well done zoo!
When researching the route, the more scenic route that took us through the Carolina Sandhills National Wildlife Refuge was not much longer than going the interstate through Charlotte (and honestly, there was hardly any traffic!).
We visited the Campbell’s Covered Bridge and the Poinsett Bridge in upstate North Carolina a few years earlier while on a trip to Greenville and thought they were neat.
So, when I noticed this was along that route, I figured, why not stop!
What to See at the Pisgah Covered Bridge
Well, the bridge, of course!
When pulling off the road, you’ll drive down a hill to a small gravel parking lot right next to the bridge.
There is a picnic table here, but no bathrooms or anything like that.
You can cross over the bridge itself, and there is a short gravel trail loop of about a quarter mile that circles around the little creek through the woods and includes a pretty decent boardwalk over part of the creek.
It probably took us 15 minutes to walk it going slow with Aaliyah and stopping for photos and to eye the occasional bug.
While there is some writing/graffiti on the boardwalk, I didn’t notice much trash or overgrowth.
So, it seems to be pretty well maintained and taken care of!
Towards the backside of the trail, there is a shallow, little waterhole that was supposedly traditionally used for baptisms.
We saw a few people swimming who seemed to be enjoying themselves.
Just under the bridge, you could also walk down to the water, although it’s mostly rocky here. Looked like a good spot to skip rocks or dip your feet in.
We didn’t notice any trolls.
How to Get to the Pisgah Covered Bridge
The covered bridge at Pisgah is located along NC State Road 1114 aka Pisgah Covered Bridge Road between Abner Road and Harvell Road.
Coming from Columbia, SC, we took Highway #1 up to just past McBee and then took Highway #145 into North Carolina to I-74 up to just south of Asbury and took exit 58 to get to the bridge.
If you’re coming south from Ashboro, you can almost straight shot it by getting on Pisgah Covered Bridge Road from Highway 220-BUS S out of town.
It’s a bit under an hour and a half from Charlotte with the easiest route being taking State Highway 49 North before cutting through the forest to the east.
From Raleigh, Durham, Greensboro, or Winston-Salem, it’s probably easiest to just head there via Ashboro.
For what it’s worth, I remember my GPS wanting me to go back the little turn in to the parking lot, more like it wanted me to just stop on the side of the road alongside the bridge.
So, keep in mind, the little turn in may or may not show up as a “road” to turn on in your GPS.
Ready to visit the Pisgah Covered Bridge yourself?
Would I go terribly out of my way to see this?
Honestly, no.
But, if you like seeing cool, old landmarks like this, it’s a nice stop if you’re traveling up through central North Carolina or heading to the North Carolina Zoo, like we were.
We were definitely happy we stopped here, but also were just outside our destination and were in no rush.
It would be a good place to have a snack, stretch your legs, and maybe even cool your feet off as well as take a few neat photos and check a little box in your list of memories.
Of course, if you’re like us and going to Ashboro, it’s a really easy stop on the way in or out as it’s just about a 15 minute drive into town.
Oh, by the way if you happen to be going to Ashboro, to the zoo or not, we were very happy with the Quality Inn Ashboro South, which offered an easy drive to the zoo and the bridge.
If you do decide to stop here, hopefully you have all the info you need to visit the Pisgah Covered Bridge yourself now!
I’d love to know what you thought in the comments below!
Cheers and Happy Exploring!