40 Acre Rock Lower Parking

Nice place to walk among the trees with my husband and dog.

The lower parking spot leads you along the Beaverpond Loop trail. There is a closed section due to storm damage. You’ll need to backtrack to catch the other side of the trail which loops around the “pond”, which is huge. The left fork takes you to a rock that’s close to 30′ above the pond. Beautiful views here. We also took a side trail to a former section of Hwy 601 that leads to an abandoned bridge over Flat Creek. Can’t wait for them to fix the closed section which includes a boardwalk.

Really nice hike! There are a few moderately difficult parts of the trail but most of it is easy. My kids ages 4-8 hiked it with no problem. The large rock at the end of the trail is pretty impressive.

I recommend upper parking if you want to get to the rock faster, but this whole area has many things. First of all, of course, the rock, which was revealed by millions of years of erosion. Second, plenty of water falls around this place, just look around, the terrain is insane. Third, and least known, is the abandoned US 601 Bridge named the “Bevdan Bridge” that you can access by foot.

We liked this hike better than the upper trail. It is longer, but it is a great hike. It passes the Beaver Pond and is pretty easy and flat until you get around d to the rock. There is another waterfall on this side. It is kind of steep getting up to the main trail. There are a few little bridges crossing the creek and some muddy areas. I think it is a little more interesting than the upper trail to the rock.