In 1974, the South Carolina Wildlife and Marine Resources Department – the precursor to the South Carolina Department of Natural Resources – began a landmark effort that would prove to be influential nationwide.
Fifty years ago, the agency established the country’s first Heritage Trust Program to “document and protect rare, threatened, and endangered species and communities.” The Heritage Trust program is still going strong today and protects many natural and cultural Heritage Preserves from the mountains to the ocean. You can find archaeological shell rings on the coast and rare plant communities in the mountains. Landforms are also included in this criteria and South Carolinians can all share in the benefits of this program.
Located just seven minutes from downtown Pickens and thirty minutes from downtown Greenville, rests a special monadnock ready to be explored. A monadnock is an isolated mountain in the Piedmont region and one of only a few in South Carolina. Paris Mountain State Park boasts another, but Glassy Mountain is often overlooked and can offer a more serene experience. Glassy Mountain Heritage Preserve was protected in 1990 and shares property lines with a retired fire lookout tower formerly managed by the South Carolina Forestry Commission. The mountain rises 1,703 feet above sea level and offers breathtaking views over a working landscape of agriculture and protected lands such as Table Rock and Caesers Head.
Glassy Mountain Heritage Preserve has a moderate to strenuous uphill climb that reaches just over 1.3 miles out-and-back in length to the summit. However you can walk the road to the top back down, which will shorten the length. Visitors to the site can drive to the top and enjoy the overlook but that route can lead to missed nature viewing opportunities and the effort is worth the reward. While most hike mountains to the vista at the top, there is so much to see and explore on the way up. As you hike the trail, keep an eye on the ground as well as the breaks in the forest.
When you begin the trail, you are immediately greeted with mighty chestnut oaks, black oaks, and hickories that give the impression of sentinels guarding the monadnock for many decades. Meandering through the trail will provide chances at experiencing ecologically blurred lines of blue ridge ecosystems meshing with the piedmont. In Spring and Summer, the greenery will be lush and thick giving a peaceful feeling as if you were alone on the mountain. Summer tanagers, red-bellied woodpeckers, and eastern towhees will often provide a chorus of song while you hike.
If you are paying attention to where you step, you will get to see special features of the monadnock environment. Fowler’s toads and eastern box turtles can be seen along the trail and provide exciting opportunities to test your nature observation skills. Fowler’s toads are just one example of the four different toads found in our state. Our turtles are laying their eggs this time of year as well, so please leave any eggs you may come by as the next generation of beloved shelled reptiles comes into the world. Spring and early summer are a time of renewal for most species that call our environment home.
The uniqueness of Glassy Mountain Heritage Preserve really shines when the visitor can appreciate the small details. The ornate lichen that adorns old oaks and the blooming spotted wintergreen, or “pipsissewa” as the Creek Nation called it, contains medicinal features that were once used as an antiseptic and antibacterial by indigenous communities. Some tales indicate that this plant was even used to treat urinary tract infections and kidney stones. If you look closely, you can find an entire world beneath your feet such as these common black ants working their way up and down a fallen leaf from a chestnut oak.
Of course, the grandest of views is from the summit. Here on the exposed granite, the visitor can witness iconic landmarks such as Table Rock State Park, Caesers Head State Park, and the Mountain Bridge Wilderness Area. Intermingled with these State Parks are more SCDNR Heritage Preserves such as Ashmore Heritage Preserve, Eva Chandler Heritage Preserve, and the venerable Jocassee Gorges Natural Area. To say the South Carolina resident is spoiled with outdoor opportunities would be putting it lightly. Unfortunately, graffiti can be prevalent on these sites, so we ask that you leave only footprints and take only memories when visiting these incredible resources.
As with all mountains, the summit can steal the attention from the rest. However, the full picture painted by sites like Glassy Mountain Heritage Preserve has much more to offer. Every direction you look demonstrates a mosaic of nature’s beauty that operates in harmony with one another. Whether it be the turkey tail fungus returning a fallen Virginia pine to the earth or a ground dwelling beetle pollinating the little brown jugs, there are sights to behold and lessons to learn. Next time you have the urge to stretch your legs in the upstate, give Glassy Mountain Heritage preserve a visit and enjoy your natural resources.
Written by Will Mundhenke, State Naturalist, South Carolina Department of Natural Resources.
Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed on South Carolina Wild are solely those of the authors, and do not reflect official policies, positions, or endorsements of activity or products by the South Carolina Department of Natural Resources.