I first discovered Hanging Rock State Park when I hiked Pilot Mountain State Park a few months ago. Located just north of Greensboro, along the North Carolina/Virginia border, the park is most famous for a large rock that juts - or "hangs" from the mountain top; however, Hanging Rock State Park has much more to offer than just the Hanging Rock Trail.
Hanging Rock State Park actually has three different mountain peaks within its borders, and the park operates a program challenging hikers to hike all three mountains (to five different lookout points) in a single day. This difficult 11-mile (17 km) hike was my goal for the day.
My hike began with an upward trek along the park's most popular path, Hanging Rock Trail. Because this trail sees so much foot traffic, it was very wide (and even graveled at some points.) This was by far the busiest segment of my trek, with the majority of the crowd resting along the jagged rocks surrounding Hanging Rock. Surprisingly, I found the view from Hanging Rock to be the least interesting - and the rock formation was no more interesting than those of the other peaks in the park; I'm not really sure why Hanging Rock gets all the fame...
After my brief rest at Hanging Rock, I continued back down the mountain until I met the Wolf Rock Trail, which formed the next segment of my loop. This trail was much narrower and passed through much thicker forest. Fortunately, the trail was fairly level, so it wasn't nearly as challenging as the climb up Hanging Rock. Eventually, the trail passes a rocky cliff with openings in the forest that allow for decent views of the surrounding countryside. One of these openings forms the second outlook, Wolf Rock - which was the least impressive of the five outlooks.
After Wolf Rock, the trail soon merges with the Cook's Wall Trail and begins another assent up the second peak. Rapidly climbing up the mountain, the trail soon provides a welcome break at House Rock, the third outlook (and the first that was truly interesting.) Sadly, this is only a brief stop before the real challenge of Cook's Wall trail begins! The trail continues for another mile, most of which is straight up the mountain. When you finally reach the mountain top, it's like walking into an entirely different environment; although the rock outcrops still remain, the forest thins some and grass grows all along the trail. Finally, you reach Cook's Wall, which proved to be my favorite outlook.
From Cook's Wall, you can see Pilot Mountain standing in the distance (and much of northern North Carolina and southern Virginia.) There are also large hawks(?) circling in the sky just off the mountain peak. It was quite the impressive sight. From here, you again retrace your steps back down the mountain towards the short Magnolia Springs Trail, which loops towards the park's final peak.
Sadly, Moore's Knob (the final peak) proved to be very challenging! It was a difficult two miles up the final mountain (which wasn't helped by the afternoon heat and the exhaustion from my previous two climbs.) From the top of Moore's Knob, your effort is rewarded with two different sights. The first, Balanced Rock, is a massive boulder that mysteriously "balances" on a much smaller rock - without falling over. The second sight, is a man-made lookout tower at the mountaintop, which provides an amazing panoramic view of the surrounding area.
After Moore's Knob, the final segment of the loop is a quick descent (with many, many stairs) back towards the parking lot at the mountain's base. The final segment of the loop ends at Hanging Rock Lake, a small reservoir formed by the damming of Cascade Creek. The lake proves to be an extremely welcome sight after 11 miles up and down mountain paths! Upon completion of the loop, you can stop at the Visitor Center and purchase a small iron-on patch proving that you completed the Five Outlooks Challenge.
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