Green is the Forest Service estimate of  black bear habitat, the main criterion being less than 1/4 mile of open road per square mile, or essentially roadless.  Because of intensive forest management near roads it is broken into pieces too small (less than 10,000 acres) to be good bear habitat (hence the light green shade). However it did qualify as an Inventoried Roadless Area of 7,500 acres. Brown and dark gray areas are private land.  White is other National Forest land.  Major trails are shown as dashed lines.

Location:
    McDowell County, S of and adjacent to the Blue Ridge Parkway and Black Moutain Range.  W of Mackey Mtn. wild area.

Access:
    From Old Fort, Go NE on US 70 to Curtis Creek road (Cty Road 1227) to the Newberry Creek Road (FS 482-A) and take trail to Star Gap (FS 209).  From Blue Ridge Parkway at Hemphill Springs(Mile 353.3), take FS trail 208 SE down Heartbreak Ridge, or take the Snooks Nose Trail from Green Knob (Mile 350)down to Slick Rock Branch and the Curtis Creek campground..

USGS Topographic Quadrangles: Old Fort, Montreat

Features/Description/Potential:
    The Jarrett Creek wild area is characterized by steep slopes and ridges dropping SE from the Parkway. It is separated from the Black Mountain wild area by the Parkway and 3/4 mile of  limited-and-no-lumbering (MA4D and MA5) areas, with some significant old growth forest just N of the cliffs on the N side of the Blue Ridge Parkway. The Jarrett Creek wild area contains the headwaters of Acorn Creek to S and of Jarrett Creek, Newberry Creek, and Big Camp Branch to the SE.  FS trail 208 (Heartbreak Ridge Trail) drops from the Parkway (Mile 353.3) at Hemphill Springs and Glass Rock Knob to Licklog Knob at 3225 ft and then to the Star Gap Trail (FS 209).   Jarrett Creek itself was never logged, a beautiful stream through a virgin forest.  There are old growth trees and Table Mountain Pines along Heartbreak Ridge.  Another trail parallel to 208 to the N runs from Green Knob on the Parkway (Mile 350) to Snooks Nose and then descends very steeply to the campground on Curtis Creek.  There are some 100+ year-old trees in the SW corner near Acorn Bottoms and the town of Graphite (on County 1408).  The USGS topo map shows what may be an old trail from here to the Parkway.  FS Trail 210 along Newberry Creek follows an old railroad grade, with some places to camp.
    From the dividing ridge W of Newberry Creek E to Curtis Creek is bear sanctuary.
     The town of Old Fort is considering the use of Curtis Creek as a drinking water supply, which could help protect the area between the Jarrett Creek and Mackey Mt. wild areas.
     Jarrett Creek is a logical extension of the Black Mountains wild area separated only by the Parkway.

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