“Hiking is not escapism; it’s realism. The people who choose
to spend time outdoors are not running away from anything; we are
returning to where we belong.”
Jennifer
Pharr Davis
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| The 20 foot waterfall |
Today
was my birthday (but I am not revealing my age as with most women)
and my lovely daughter, Jeannine and her youngest daughter, Mary
joined me for lunch and a jaunt through the woods. I looked up this
park and thought it sounded like an interesting thing to do on this
beautiful day. It is located about 10 miles east from the town of
Lexington. We spotted the sign and pulled over into a small parking
lot and saw the trail. This is one of midlands best hiking
destinations and has fascinating layered sandstone formations that
are covered in fossils of ancient marine creatures.
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| The toppled Peachtree "Big Rock". |
We
started down the well kept dirt trail with Mary in the lead. She
loved being up in front and would report back to us what she was
seeing ahead. One time, she looked back at us and said, “There
are people coming” in a way as if she hadn’t seen any people in
days. The tall long leaf pines towered over us as we walked down
the winding trail. There are 7.5 miles of trails and a nice 2.3
loop trail that can be fairly busy on the weekends. There are only
minor elevations and is a nice easy walk.
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| The "Big Rock" on its side |
The
“Big Rock” used to be an inverted pyramid shape that was balanced
on its tip but as of 2013 it had toppled over from erosion and
storms. What a shame. This unusual shape was the result of many
years of the Atlantic Ocean cutting through the layers of sandstone.
Of course, the Atlantic has long since receded but left these usual
formations for everyone to view. The “Big Rock” now rests on
the ground where it fell and is roped off as to keep it preserved.
There is another smaller formation that is called the “Little
Peachtree Rock” but we didn’t get that far. Next time.
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| Unique rock formations |
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| Mary |
Down
near the “Big Rock” is a natural waterfall that splashes into a
small pool. This naturally occurring water fall drops some 20 feet
and it looks very pretty with the back drop of the rocks all around
it. Mary just loved climbing up on the rocks and feeling quite
large. We did climb to the top to see where the water was coming
from and discovered a small stream.
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| Mary holding up the rock |
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| View from the top of the waterfall |
This
Heritage Preserve is managed by Conservancy and SC-DNR with the
shared dream to preserve and nurture the native long leaf pine
forest. This preserve has 460 acres and is the largest sandstone
outcrop the state.
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| More unique rock formations |
I
will come back to do the entire loop someday as it really was a very
interesting stop. If you are looking for things to do in South
Carolina, add this to your list. Here is a detailed map of the
preserve trails and where it is located:
https://www.sctrails.net/trails/trail/peachtree-rock-heritage-preserve.
Check them out and include it with your bucket list. Bye for now.
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