The river flows out of the Pisgah Ranger District of the Pisgah National Forest in two forks: the North Fork, which drains the slopes just south of the Blue Ridge Parkway between Asheville and Mount Pisgah, and the South Fork, which drains the area of the Pisgah Ranger District just east of the Cradle of Forestry in America, including the slopes of Black Mountain.
The river originates from the Pisgah Ranger District within the Pisgah National Forest and splits into two tributaries: the North Fork, which flows through the slopes south of the Blue Ridge Parkway between Asheville and Mount Pisgah, and the South Fork, which drains the area east of the Cradle of Forestry in America, including the slopes of Black Mountain.