Vaseyi Trail and Pond
At the right time of year, the trail leading to Vaseyi Pond is pure magic — a fairy tale walk through a thicket of 12 foot tall Rhododendron vaseyi bathed in bright pink blossoms. Wait three weeks and the pink petals are underfoot — more magic. By mid-June, when the ferns have banished the brown of winter for another season, the banks of Vaseyi Creek are carpeted with thousands of white Galax candles that light up the now dark tunnel.
At the end of this short and delightful journey lies Vaseyi Pond. Built to provide irrigation for establishing plants at the Reserve, Vaseyi Pond is home to plantings of Rhododendron, Hydrangea and Viburnum. Phlox and Tiarella brighten the early spring days. By mid and late summer, the cheerful high jinks of the Rudbeckia cousins — lacinata, fulgida and goldstrum, along with hydrangeas, turtleheads and veronicastrums, are in full swing. They keep things joyful until the arrival of their late-to-the-party friends — The Joe Pyes, who take over till the leaves begin to tinge in fall.
If Vaseyi Trail and Pond is quiet and restful... the viewsite, only a stones throw away, provides the opposite experience. A window to the world of the southern Appalachians, the viewsite provides an uninterrupted vista to the north toward the Blue Ridge Parkway.
