Sassafras Mountain is the highest point in the state of

South Carolina )''Animis opibusque parati'' ( for, , Latin, Prepared in mind and resources, links=no) , anthem = " Carolina";" South Carolina On My Mind" , Former = Province of South Carolina , seat = Columbia , LargestCity = Charleston , LargestMetro = ...

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

. It is in the

Blue Ridge Mountains The Blue Ridge Mountains are a physiographic province of the larger Appalachian Mountains range. The mountain range is located in the Eastern United States, and extends 550 miles southwest from southern Pennsylvania through Maryland, West Virgin ...

, part of the

Appalachian Mountains The Appalachian Mountains, often called the Appalachians, (french: Appalaches), are a system of mountains in eastern to northeastern North America. The Appalachians first formed roughly 480 million years ago during the Ordovician Period. They ...

. An observation tower opened on top of Sassafras Mountain in 2019.

Location

It is located along the

North Carolina North Carolina () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States. The state is the 28th largest and 9th-most populous of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, Georgia and So ...

border in northern

Pickens County, South Carolina Pickens County is located in the northwest part of the U.S. state of South Carolina. As of the 2020 census, its population was 131,404. Its county seat is Pickens. The county was created in 1826. It is part of the Greenville-Anderson- Mauldin ...

nearest to the town of

Rosman, North Carolina Rosman is a town in Transylvania County, North Carolina, United States. The population was 576 at the 2010 census. The northern terminus of U.S. Route 178 is less than one mile northwest of Rosman on U.S. Route 64. The Pisgah Astronomical Resear ...

. From I-85 Exit 21 in South Carolina, one can reach Sassafras Mountain by driving north on US-178 until reaching the unincorporated community of Rocky Bottom. From there, take F. Van Clayton Highway (a local road) about to the parking lot at the top. From Rosman, follow US-178 south. The summit is an easy 300 foot walk from the parking lot and is, by merit of not having stairs, wheelchair accessible, although the path is fairly steep. The North Carolina side of the mountain was owned by former Congressman

Charles H. Taylor Charles H. Taylor may refer to: * Charles Taylor (North Carolina politician) (born 1941), US congressman from North Carolina * Charles H. Taylor (Michigan politician) (1813–1889), American politician who served as the Michigan Secretary of State ...

. In June 2010 he sold to

The Conservation Fund The Conservation Fund is a U.S. nonprofit organization with a dual charter to pursue environmental preservation and economic development. From 2008–2018, it has placed more than 500,000 acres under conservation management through a program wh ...

. The Fund has donated , at the top of the mountain, to the

South Carolina Department of Natural Resources The South Carolina Department of Natural Resources (DNR) is a South Carolina state agency charged with regulating hunting, fishing, boating, duck stamp orders, and the conservation efforts of the state government. It is directed by seven-member ...

and conveyed a remaining to the

North Carolina Forest Service The North Carolina Forest Service, formerly known as the North Carolina Division of Forest Resources is a North Carolina state government agency responsible for providing land management assistance to landowners. The agency's primary responsibili ...

for

Headwaters State Forest Headwaters State Forest is a state forest, located in Transylvania County, North Carolina, along the South Carolina state line and is part of a larger 100,000+ acre conservation corridor that stretches some 80 miles along the state line. The ...

. The Pisgah Quadrangle topographical map, revised 1904–1905, shows the long abandoned Sassafras Gap Road to be the preferred route through to Rosman, N.C. and Brevard, N.C. at the end of the 19th century and that the existing Highway 178 was then a secondary road. This abandoned road is a short distance from the summit and is crossed by the hiking trail to Caesars Head from Sassafras summit. Most people crossing this old roadbed in Sassafras Gap don't recognize it as a road, but it is easily recognized because of the short section of steps going down into the roadbed, and a similar section of short steps on the opposite side of the roadbed going up and the trail then continuing steeply up toward Caesars Head. A short hike South down the old Sassafras Gap Road will take you to Hickory Head Spring, the headwater of the South Saluda River. Hickory Head Spring is shown as a feature on the Mill's Atlas, 1825, Greenville District, South Carolina.

Geology

The granite that originally formed Sassafras Mountain has metamorphosed into Henderson Gneiss, which is quartz, muscovite, and feldspar.http://www.themareks.com/csm/appalachians/monday.html, Monday 3-8-2004 Dr. John M. (Jack) Garihan, guest geologist

References

External links

* {{U.S. State Highest Points Mountains of North Carolina Mountains of South Carolina Protected areas of Pickens County, South Carolina Mountains of Transylvania County, North Carolina Landforms of Pickens County, South Carolina Highest points of U.S. states North American 1000 m summits

Location

Geology

See also

References

External links