Give generously today to help CTNC conserve this authentic Blue Ridge Parkway destination!

The Orchard at Altapass is a place where 50,000 people each year take in stunning mountain vistas, dance to local music, study monarch butterflies, hike trails, take hayrides, and eat fresh apples, fudge, and ice cream. And they hear poignant and hilarious stories about the families that lived in these hills generations ago. The storyteller? Orchard owner Bill Carson, the funniest former NASA rocket scientist you’ll ever come across.

The Conservation Trust for North Carolina is working closely with Bill and his sister Kit Trubey to conserve forever the Orchard’s land, apple trees, trails, vistas, and cultural heritage.

Bill and Kit are dedicated to protecting this iconic Parkway landmark. They bought the 276-acre property twenty years ago to prevent development of the views and worked with the Conservation Trust to conserve almost half the land in 2001. Now, they want to guarantee the preservation of the rest, for the days long after they’re gone.

Our plan is to purchase a lasting conservation agreement on the property that will protect the orchard’s vistas and enable all of the current activities to continue. But it’s not a simple path to get there. This is a complicated project because of all the orchard’s activities, our long-term stewardship responsibilities, and the need for substantial state funding.

We need your help to ensure that we can get the job done this year. We need to raise $30,000 by June 30th to cover our transaction costs and leverage public funds to complete the project.

If we fail, the orchard’s future could be bleak. A future where inappropriate residential or commercial development rules the day, and ruins this priceless destination. That would be nothing less than a tragedy.

We hope you will give generously today to help us conserve this national treasure. Your support will help us prevent any changes that would ruin the natural beauty, mountain culture, and local economy that the orchard supports. Let’s keep the Orchard at Altapass the truly amazing place that it is.  Thank you!