By Dr. Patricia A. Whitener
Forest Fest returns to the Clemson University Forest on Saturday, March 28, 2026. Here’s why you don’t want to miss it.
Hosted annually in the Clemson University North Forest, Forest Fest is a free, family-friendly day of exploration, discovery, and connection across one of the most remarkable living landscapes in South Carolina. It covers seven stops, each with multiple activity stations stretched along four miles of forest road.
The Clemson University Forest is not a park in the conventional sense; rather, it is a working forest, a living laboratory, a classroom without walls, in continuous use for research, education, and stewardship since 1934. It encompasses pine forests managed for grassland birds, hardwood coves sheltering rare plants, creek systems that serve as indicators of watershed health, and wetlands where beaver and wood duck share habitat.
Forest Fest exists to celebrate and connect students, faculty and visitors with nature and is for anyone who has ever wondered what lives in a stream, what a prescribed burn accomplishes, or what it feels like to walk across a hand-laid stone bridge built by the Civilian Conservation Corps above Six Mile Creek.
In 2025, 516 people traveled down Issaqueena Lake Road. Seventy-nine percent of them had never been to Forest Fest before. They came because a neighbor mentioned it, because a colleague forwarded an email, because a child asked to go somewhere outside. And when they left, 97 out of every 100 said they would recommend it to someone else. The most common suggestion for improvement? More time.
What To Expect
The 2026 event follows a self-guided route through the forest, with seven stops, each offering multiple activities. You’re welcome to move at your own pace, linger where you’re curious, and let the day unfold rather than rush through it.
At Indian Springs, you can experience forest bathing, made popular in Japan; face painting for kids; a Leave No Trace station; and a Hike to Heal and Rural Health presence that reminds us that well-being is enhanced in the outdoors. Turkey Creek Crossing offers a hands-on look at stream health with Clemson Extension Water Resources and Adopt-a Stream, where you can learn to read a creek the way a trained scientist does, by what’s living in it.
Willow Springs invites the youngest visitors into the forest’s own magic through 4-H fairy houses, engages families in serious conversation about invasive species with extension experts, and helps keep pollutants out of the environment with the Anderson Soil and Water Conservation District. There will be a Scout troop there to share helpful information on creating habitat in your own backyard.
The Vernal Ponds area connects visitors to one of the most ephemeral and ecologically vital features of the piedmont forest: seasonal wetlands that sustain amphibians and a cascade of interconnected life. Learn about quail research and birding in a landscape actively managed for wildlife habitat.
Wildcat Creek may be the station people talk about the most: SCDNR’s Stream Team sampling alongside 4-H reptile and turtle research, Master Naturalists sharing decades of accumulated knowledge, learn from certified Wildlife Rehabilitators, expert Mountain bikers & Equestrian groups and a waterfall hike that earns its name: Wildcat Falls.
Holly Springs is a gathering of forest expertise: the CUF forestry exposition demonstrates the full, interconnected complexity of a working forest presented by the people who study it every day. Learn more about Restoration Agriculture practices, and at the Lake Front Picnic Area, bring the day home with Simple Sammies food truck, live music, 4-H shooting sports, canoes and paddleboards on the lake, and a First Aid tent on-site. You can also learn how to become a Friend of the Forest!
Who This Day Is For
Forest Fest is for everyone. For the family with young children who have never seen a turtle up close. For the neighbor who has always driven past the forest entrance, unaware of what was inside. For the retiree who grew up near these woods and wants to come back with fresh eyes. For the Clemson student who spends their days in a lab or a classroom and wants to explore the largest public university-managed forest contiguous with an open campus in the United States.
Last year, attendees ranged from toddlers in carriers to grandparents in lawn chairs. Ph.D. students ran stations alongside elementary school kids. State agency scientists stood next to 4-H volunteers. Clemson University faculty and staff who attended were joined by an almost equal number of community members from entirely outside the University.
“Environmental stewardship cannot be legislated or instructed into existence. It is caught, not taught, through encounter.” -2025 Forest Fest volunteer
Mark Your Calendar
Forest Fest 2026 takes place on Saturday, March 28, from 10:00 AM to 2:00 PM at the Clemson Experimental Forest. Enter from Issaqueena Lake Road gate. The event is free. Parking is managed along Issaqueena Lake Road, which runs one-way westbound during the event. The speed limit is 15 MPH. Bring comfortable walking shoes, water, curiosity, and whoever in your life most needs an afternoon in the trees. We will CU there!
