40 Hike Challenge: #16 Hanging Rock State Park

Distance: 5.3 miles one-way

My Hike: 6.7 miles (including Tory’s Den and Falls and continuing to the Visitor’s Center)

Difficulty: Moderate to Strenuous

Elevation Change: gain-1564′; loss-1261′

source:  Great Day Hikes of North Carolina’s Mountains-to-Sea Trail

Hike #16 from Tory’s Den parking lot to Hanging Rock Visitor’s center continues the MST’s journey through North Carolina’s Piedmont section and the Sauratown mountains. The trail provides a spectacular reward at the summit of Moore’s Knob with 360 degree views from the stone lookout tower. Moore’s Knob is the tallest summit in the Sauratown mountains (2,579ft) and from the tower you can see Hanging Rock, Pilot Mountain and the extent of the Blue Ridge as it comes down from Virginia into the North Carolina foothills.

Today’s hike was my first hike in September to celebrate the Mountains to Sea Trail’s 44th Birthday. I was thankful to be able to share it with four of my friends- Art, Todd and Jeff. Before setting out on Hike #16, we took a small detour from Tory’s Den Parking Lot to the actual Tory’s Den cave and falls. It is a small hike (0.2 miles) from the right of the parking lot. There is also a small information kiosk that provides some history of the Tories and the cave.

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The MST trailhead is at the back left of the parking lot. There is clear signage and blazing throughout the hike, marked with white and blue circular blazes. The blue circles are for the Tory’s Den trail. The trail is easy to follow with a continuous but moderate climb.

At about 2.5 miles in, the trail intersects the Moore’s Wall Loop Trail and it is blazed with white blazes and red circles. At this point, the climb became a bit more strenuous with more rocks to step over.

The topography was very similar to that of Pilot Mountain with pine forests, Rhododendron and Mountain Laurel and with many large boulders scattered throughout the woods. If you’re curious, there appears to be many interesting areas to explore not far from the trail.

As we continued to the top of the ridge, it was obvious that the area had experienced some recent wind storms and damage. I have to give a shout out and a thank you to the trail maintenance crews for this area. They have done an outstanding job to keep it clear and hikable – thank you!

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The highlight of the trip was the view from the stone lookout tower on top of Moore’s Knob. From Tory’s Den Parking, it is about 3.6 miles, but you could also reach it from the Hanging Rock Lake in about 1.7 miles. However, it is a much steeper climb from the Lake. I recommend planning on spending some time at the summit. If the tower is crowded, there are plenty of surrounding spaces to rest and take in the view.

Just below the tower is “Balanced Rock”; you will understand the name once you see it.

The climb down toward the lake is steeper than our climb up with some rock steps, etc. It is well traveled since it is closer to the lake parking. The trail continues through the Hanging Rock Campground and to Hanging Rock Lake.

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The MST goes around the Lake to the Visitor’s Center and beyond. There is also a 1.3 mile hike from the Visitor’s Center up to the top of Hanging Rock. If you are interested in hiking up to Hanging Rock, I recommend you choose a weekday or early morning because it is a popular hike and it can get congested.

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This was also a chance for me to test out the new features of The MST Guide by PocketTrails. As I have mentioned before, Josh Smith and Julie “Jester” Gayheart have been working hard to develop this very useful APP for MST hikers. I used the APP on my iPhone and it worked well – tracking me for the entire hike. It contains very useful information for key points along the trail and I look forward to becoming more familiar with it in the future.

We picked a beautiful day for our adventure, as hiking is a great way for good friends to catch up and spend time together. Thanks to Art, Todd and Jeff for sharing the trail.