4th day Piney Creek NC-Stone Mountain S.P NC

Stone Mountain Creek State  Park North Carolina is an hour drive from our C.G in Piney Creek ,the park .

Located on more than 14,100 acres in Wilkes and Alleghany counties, Stone Mountain State Park offers cascading waterfalls and cool mountain streams, quiet forests abundant with wildlife, scenic hiking trails and a historic mountain homestead.

One of the park's most spectacular features is Stone Mountain, a 600-foot granite dome. This magnificent feature is part of a 25-square-mile pluton, an igneous rock formed beneath the earth's surface by molten lava. Over time, wind, water and other forces gradually eroded the softer layers of rock atop the granite block and exposed the outcrop we see today. Wet weather springs continually carve troughs in the granite as water runs down the mountain's sloping face.

Established in 1969 and designated a National Natural Landmark in 1975, Stone Mountain is bounded by the Blue Ridge Parkway and the Thurmond Chatham Game Lands.

Long before becoming a state park, Stone Mountain was settled by families of English, German, Irish, French and Scotch-Irish descent who built the log homes, farms, mills, churches and schools needed for self-sufficient communities.

We decided to hike a strenuous  Stone Mountain Loop Trail for 4.5 Miles round trip as it has it all:Waterfalls,Cascades,Brooks,Bridges,view to the STONE and 400 steeps….(well we did not hike yesterday..)

Rhododendron flowers covered the trail  that  created a beautiful carpet of colors .

From close by I could l get a good shot of the flower still on the bush.

                               

All along the trail we found beautiful hidden corners and we took the time to enjoy as many as we could ,the atmosphere,the bird songs and the tranquility were all over the place and I do not have enough words to describe the our feelings,so I will let the pictures tell the story (one picture=thousand words)

   

    

After the hike we found a picnic place in the woods,it was so quite that we could almost hear the grass grow.

The magnificent Stone was visible form the Hutchinson Homestead area  where some old building are on site.

    

                               

On the way back we closed the windows,put the a/c on strong enough to cool us down without disturbing Frank Sinatra playing “My Way” and we were on OUR way…..

Thank you for visiting.