Approach Road
Frederick Law Olmsted designed the winding three–mile Approach Road to Biltmore House to provide a pleasant and relaxing drive through a naturalistic woodland landscape. Using a variety of plants indigenous to the Blue Ridge and supplemented with exotic ones as well, Olmsted's intent was to create a feeling of subtropical luxuriance and give northern visitors the impression of being "nearer the sun." He specified several types of bamboo with different textures and heights varying from one to forty feet to help create that effect, especially in winter when many trees and plants are bare of foliage.
As you drive up the Approach Road to the house, slow down and picture yourself in a horse drawn wagon, as Olmsted designed the road with that perspective in mind.
