Rattlesnake Knob Trail

Dogs Leashed

Features Birding · Fall Colors · Views · Wildflowers · Wildlife

This trail is a spur off of the Red Trail. It is short, but quite steep, and will lead you to a rock outcropping that provides wonderful views of the Hickory Nut Gorge below. The views are best and unimpeded in winter, when the leaves fall off the trees in this area. Be sure to explore when you get to the top, as there are several different rock outcrops which each provide a different vantage point!

Dr. Tom Florence and his wife Glenna left a legacy of natural wonders when they donated their 600 acre property on Little Pisgah Mountain to Conserving Carolina. The couple started acquiring this land on the southern slopes of the mountain in the 1960s and they made regular trips from Georgia to enjoy it. In their retirement, they lived on the land for 20 years. They came to have a deep sense of connection to the land, and they didn't want its natural treasures ever to be lost. And they didn't want to just keep them to themselves.

The Florences donated 300 acres to Conserving Carolina in 1996, which was the first property that the land trust owned. They went on to donate an additional 300 acres in 2001. Conserving Carolina adopted and improved nearly five miles of existing trails and has opened the land to the public as the Florence Nature Preserve.