About Bald Rock

Bald Rock Heritage Preserve is home to 165-acres of forest and granite outcroppings overlooking the foothills of Pickens and Greenville counties. The preserve is one of the best viewing sites of Table Rock, a massive rock formation and nearby state park that serves as a major South Carolina attraction.

Bald Rock Heritage Preserve is part of the Mountain Bridge Wilderness Area, which includes Wildcat Falls, Caesars Head State Park, and Jones Gap State Park. The Wilderness Area covers more than 10,000 pristine acres featuring waterfalls, lakes, hiking trails and nature viewing.

The preserve is home to two headwater streams that are essential in maintaining several groups of rare plant species. These include the nationally threatened piedmont ragwort, and the state threatened, grass of parnassus. Rare animal species that have also been documented nearby include the New England cottontail (rabbit), Eastern woodrat and the northern long-eared bat.

The South Carolina Department of Natural Resources (SCDNR) has managed the property since 2001. Unfortunately, Bald Rock Heritage Preserve continues to experience overuse with an average of 3000 visitors a week, facilitated by easy access from Geer Highway for almost 100 years. The result has been long term abuse including graffiti, trash, campfires, fireworks, evidence of drug and alcohol use, broken glass, and other illegal activity. Visitors continue to access the property between sunset and sunrise although it is posted as closed.

The SCDNR’s Heritage Trust Program was created in 1976, the first such program in the nation, to help stem the tide of habitat loss by protecting critical natural habitats and significant cultural sites. Enabling legislation directed the SCDNR, in coordination with other state agencies, to set aside a portion of the state’s rich natural and cultural heritage in a system of heritage preserves to be protected for the benefit of present and future generations.

These natural areas and cultural sites provide resources for scientific research; serve as reservoirs of natural and historical elements and habitats for rare and vanishing species. Visitors may observe natural biotic and environmental systems as areas for both study and enjoyment and as examples of the lands, structures and related artifacts which represent significant aspects of South Carolina’s historical and cultural heritage.

Friends of Bald Rock is a 501(c)(3) non-profit volunteer service organization founded in September 2021 to assist SCDNR to restore and enhance the safe public use and enjoyment of the land while preserving and protecting its natural resources.  So far, our volunteers have collected more than 3.5 tons of litter, pressure washed graffiti off the rock, and are now restoring patina and native plant habitats to protect the rock as part of a sustainable master plan. Join us in shifting the culture from vandalism to conservation.