North Carolina officials recently announced the transfer of nearly 900 acres to Hanging Rock State Park to allow additional room for camping, a day use area, a proposed extension of the Mountains-to-Sea State Trail, a new trailhead and parking.
Hanging Rock currently occupies more than 7,800 acres among the Suaratown Mountains four miles southwest of Danbury in Stokes County.
Above, Hanging Rock and the park’s visitor center are seen from Moores Knob.
The new tract, known as Mill Creek, is 875 acres on the eastern edge of the park off of Orrell Road, according to a state parks news release and The Stokes News.
“The (newly added) land itself – once a tobacco farm and more recently an area leased for hunting – is spectacular,” the Stokes News says. “(I)t already has roads cut in, empty fields for parking, ancient forests and wide expansive views of the surrounding mountains. Mill Creek empties into the Dan River just below Danville.”
Open grasslands provide “sweeping views” of ‘Three Sisters,’ ‘Sheeprock,’ and Flat Shoal Mountain, the news release says.
Money for the property came from the NC Parks and Recreation Trust Fund and the NC Clean Water Management Trust Fund.
Hanging Rock State Park offers more than 18 miles of trails, including hikes to the peaks of Hanging Rock and Moores Knob, and to several waterfalls; camping and rental cabins; a lake with a swimming beach, boating and fishing; mountain biking; rock climbing; picnic areas; and more.
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