Hanging Rock is one of the remaining mountains of the Sauratown Range and ancient mountain range that has been worn down by time. The other two notable peaks that remain in this range are Pilot Mountain in Pilot Mountain State Park and Sauratown Mountain, which is on private land. The Sauratown Mountains are sometimes called the "mountains away from the mountains", because they are separated from the Blue Ridge Mountains to the west. What remains of the Sauratown mountains are the erosion-resistant quartzite that makes up the ridges and knobs, such as Hanging Rock and Moore's Knob. Although the mountains are no longer high in altitude, ranging from 1700 to 2500 feet, they are much higher than the surrounding countryside at around 800 feet, and so provide magnificent views of the surrounding Piedmont and the Blue Ridge Mountains to the west and north. The park was established in 1936 through donations of land from the Stokes County Committee for Hanging Rock and the Winston-Salem Foundation.
Contact Information:
1790 Hanging Rock Park Road
Danbury, NC 27016-7417
Phone: (336) 593-8480
Email: hanging.rock@ncdenr.gov
GPS Coordinates: 36.411906, -80.254122
Directions:
The entrance to the park is off NC-8 just north of Danbury. From Danbury, travel a few miles north on NC-8, then turn left on Hanging Rock Park Road to enter the park. Use the map below to generate customized directions to the park.
Map:
Trails:
There are about 18 miles of hiking trails in the park, ranging from short handicapped-accessible trails to long mountain hikes with substantial elevation gain. Descriptions of the trails in the park are below and can be viewed on the map above.
Cook's Wall Trail:
Length: 1.6 miles (one way)
Difficulty: Moderate
Blaze: White Diamonds
The Cook's Wall Trail runs from the end of the Wolf Rock Trail to Cook's Wall, a rocky outcropping at the southeastern end of the park. The trail is marked with white diamond blazes and is about a mile and a half in length. Magnolia Springs Trial intersects with the trail and provides a path to Moore's Wall Loop Trail. House Rock and Cook's Wall are two points of interest along this trail. House Rock is just past the intersection with Magnolia Springs Trail and Cook's Wall is at the far end of the trail.
Hanging Rock Trail:
Length: 1.3 miles (one way)
Difficulty: Moderate
Blaze: Orange Circles
The Hanging Rock Trail runs from the visitor center parking lot up to Hanging Rock Mountain. The trail is just over a mile, but has consistent elevation gain giving it moderate difficulty. Also, it is not a loop so hiking to Hanging Rock and back is about 2.5 miles in length. However, reaching the end is worth the challenge. At the summit is a beautiful rock formation that "hangs" over lower points along the trail. The 360° views from the summit are great and on a clear day, one can see north into Virginia and south to Winston-Salem. This is the most popular trail in the park and thus the most crowded, especially during the fall when color is peaking. Despite the potential crowds, a trip to the park is not complete with hiking this trail.
Indian Creek Trail:
Length: 3.7 miles (one way)
Difficulty: Moderate
Blaze: Red Squares
The Indian Creek Trail leads from the north end of the visitor center parking lot down to the Dan River. In the first half-mile or so, it passes two small waterfalls - Hidden Falls and Window Falls. Descriptions of these waterfalls are in the waterfall section below. This first half-mile is also the most popular section of the trail - most people don't continue on. Past the waterfalls, the trail continues following Indian Creek downstream and is narrow and rocky with a couple of stream crossings. After another mile, there is a road crossing across Hanging Rock Park Road and then the trail opens up and levels off a bit. There is an old dilapidated barn right past the road crossing. After about another mile and a half, the trail comes out on some bluffs high above the creek and gets narrow, rocky, and steep again. There are about 4 more stream crossings and then it levels off again before reaching the Dan River Access off Flinchum Road.
The following video shows some of the highlights going from the Dan River Access up to the Visitor Center.
Lower Cascades Trail:
Length: 0.4 miles (one way)
Difficulty: Moderate
The Lower Cascades Trail leads to Lower Cascades Falls (see the waterfalls section below). Reaching the trailhead requires leaving the park and making the first left on Moore's Spring Road and then the first left on Hall Road. The parking lot will be on the right. See the map above to navigate to the parking lot. The trail itself is short, less than half a mile and leads to a wooden staircase leading down to the falls basin.
Magnolia Springs Trail:
Length: 0.4 miles (one way)
Difficulty: Easy
Blaze: Blue Squares
Magnolia Springs is a short trail, less than half a mile, that connects the Moore's Wall Loop Trail and the Cook's Wall Trail. This trail can be used to make longer loop hikes incorporating multiple trails in the park.
Moore's Wall Loop Trail:
Length: 4.3 miles (loop)
Difficulty: Strenuous
Blaze: Red Circles
The Moore's Wall Loop Trail begins at the family campground. In the counter-clockwise direction, after a stream crossing, the trail quickly and steeply heads up to Moore's Knob, which is the highest point in the Sauratown Mountains at 2,579 feet above sea level. There is a lookout tower at the peak allowing visitors to go a little higher and provides spectacular 360° views of the surrounding area. Continuing on, the trail runs along the ridgeline of Moore's Wall before gradually heads back down the mountain. As the trail approaches the base of the mountain, there is a split - right goes along the Tory's Den Trail and left continues on the Moore's Wall Loop Trail. A half-mile or so further and the trail splits again, with right leading to the Magnolia Springs Trail to Cook's Wall Trail, and straight continues back to the campground and lake.
Here's a video of highlights of the trail.
Tory's Den Trail:
Length: 2.7 miles
Difficulty: Moderate
Blaze: Blue Circles
Tory's Den Trail leads from Moore's Wall Loop Trail near the base of Huckleberry Ridge to Tory's Den and Waterfall. The Mountains-to-Sea Trail follows Tory's Den Trail. It follows Hucklberry Ridge then starts to head down. There are views of Moore's Wall through breaks in the trees. Switchbacks lead down to a crossing of Charlie Young Road. Sauratown Trail and MST split to the left, while Tory's Den goes right parallel to the road and leading to the Tory's Den Parking area. Continuing past the parking, the trail leads to the waterfall and cave.
Upper Cascades Trail:
Length: 0.2 miles
Difficulty: Easy
The Upper Cascades Trail, which is also the park's Track Trail, is a short trail that leads from the southwest end of the visitor center parking lot to Upper Cascade Falls. The trail is initially paved and crosses the park entrance road. To the left leads to the Rock Garden. Upper Cascades Trail goes right and follows a gravel road. After a sharp switchback to the left, the trail leads to a viewing deck for Upper Cascade Falls and stairs leading to the base.
Wolf Rock Trail:
Length: 1.4 miles (one way)
Difficulty: Moderate
Blaze: Blue Triangles
The Wolf Rock Trail runs from a split in the Hanging Rock Trail past Wolf Rock and terminates at the Cook's Wall Trail. The trail has blue triangle blazes and is over a mile in length. Wolf Rock, another rocky outcropping in the park lies close to the end of the trail near the intersection with Cook's Wall Trail.
Camping:
Camping is available at two locations. The family campground is located down from the visitor center at the trailhead for Moore's Wall Loop Trail. There are 73 campsites with a tent pad, picnic table, and grill. Potable water and washhouses with bathrooms, sinks, and showers are located in the camping area. Visit the park's website to make a reservation.
Hanging Rock Lake:
Hanging Rock Lake provides opportunities for swimming and boating (seasonal) and fishing (year-round). The lake was constructed by the CCC in 1938 as well as the stone bathhouse and beach on the lake. Swimming (for a small fee) and boat rentals are available during the summer months. Check the park's website for dates and times.
Points of Interest:
There are several waterfalls, overlooks and other points of interest in the park. The three major peaks within the park include Hanging Rock, Moore's Knob, and Cook's Wall. Two smaller peaks with great overlooks along Cook's Wall include House Rock and Wolf Rock. If you hike to all five, you are eligible to purchase a patch from the visitor center.
Cooks Wall:
Cooks Wall Mountain is located in the southeastern section of the park and is accessed via the Cooks Wall Trail. The summit of the mountain is just past House Rock, but there isn't much of an overlook here. The overlook at the end of the trail is actually Devils Chimney. On my last visit, I found a cool spot in the gap between Cooks Wall Mountain and Devils Chimney. A steep path leads from Cooks Wall Trail down here.
Hanging Rock:
Hanging Rock, the park's namesake, is the most popular spot in the park with amazing views. Use caution here as people have died from falling. As it tends to get very crowded, try to arrive early to avoid the masses.
Hidden Falls:
Hidden Falls is located just a short walk from the Visitor Center parking lot.
House Rock:
House Rock is not so much a summit, but a nice overlook near the summit of Cooks Wall Mountain. Access to this overlook is via the Cooks Wall Trail, less than a half-mile from the intersection with Magnolia Springs Trail. On a clear day, the Winston-Salem skyline is visible to the south.
Lower Cascades Falls:
Lower Cascades Falls is my favorite waterfall in Hanging Rock.
Moore's Knob:
Moore's Knob is the highest point in the park and in the Sauratown Mountain range at 2,579 feet above sea level. Access to the peak is along the Moore's Wall Loop Trail. The rocky outcrop at the summit provides great views to the north and west. Looking west, the Sauratown range can be seen with Sauratown Mountain and Pilot Mountain visible. A lookout tower at the summit allows visitors to get even higher and provide fantastic 360° views.
Tise Falls:
Tise Falls is along Cascade Creek just downstream of Upper Cascade Falls. There's no trail, however, and its very steep to get down to the base.
Tory's Falls:
Tory's Falls is the highest waterfall in the park, but it's on a very low-flow stream, so best to visit this one right after a good rain.
Upper Cascades Falls:
Upper Cascades Falls is also a very short walk from the Visitor Center.
Window Falls:
Window Falls is located about a half mile from the Visitor Center parking lot on the Indian Creek Trail, just past Hidden Falls.
Wolf Rock:
Wolf Rock is a sub-summit just over 2000 feet located between Cooks Wall and Hanging Rock. The Wolf Rock Trail provides access and crosses the summit, which is forested. The overlook is located southwest of the actual summit near the intersection with Cooks Wall Trail.
Wildlife:
Catawba rhododendron (Rhododendron catawbiense) is one of the most beautiful plants at Hanging Rock. In late spring, around May, these shrubs explode with bright pink flowers. Preferring mountainous habitats, they are most common at high elevations, such as around Moore's Wall.
Another common and beautiful mountain shrub is the mountain laurel (Kalmia latifolia).
Here's a photo of the two growing together along Moore's Wall Loop Trail.
One of the most common wildflowers in the park is galax (Galax urceolata). Even if you don't see them, you will likely smell their strong skunky aroma along the trails.
Fire pink (Silene virginica) has bright red flowers that attract its primary pollinator - hummingbirds.
Dwarf bristly locust (Robinia nana) is a small shrub that produces showy pink flowers.
Another pretty wildflower in the park is Ohio Spiderwort (Tradescantia ohiensis), which is commonly found in gardens. I found these blooming along the Dan River.
Although uncommon to see, Hanging Rock is home to several species of snakes, including the venomous copperhead (Agkistrodon contortrix). Although poisonous, copperheads are not aggressive and will not bite unless provoked.
The moist areas around creeks and streams are prime habitat for salamanders and toads. I'm not sure what species this is, probably Bufo genus, but I spotted him along Wolf Rock Trail.
A common species of newt in the park is the Eastern Newt (Notophthalmus viridescens). The larval and adult stages are aquatic, but the juvenile stage, known as the red eft, is terrestrial.
Blog Entries:
11-Mar-2023: Hanging Rock Hike
14-May-2021: Triad MST Hikes
27-Jan-2019: Winter Hike at Hanging Rock
21-May-2017: Waterfalls at Hanging Rock and Mayo River
19-Mar-2016: Summits & Waterfalls at Hanging Rock
05-Oct-2013: Early Fall Color at Hanging Rock
04-Apr-2012: Windy Day at Hanging Rock
31-Jul-2011: Hanging Rock Waterfalls
30-Jul-2011: Camping at Hanging Rock
External Links:
NC State Parks Website: https://www.ncparks.gov/hanging-rock-state-park
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