Tom and Glenna Rock Trail

Dogs Leashed

Features Birding · Fall Colors · Geological Significance · Wildflowers

This trail spurs off of the Blue Trail and ends at a large rock formation that makes for an ideal lunch spot. This trail is largely flat and easy to maneuver, but it is very narrow in some spots and poison ivy grows naturally on the side of the trail in a few places. It's the perfect place to go for a quiet and pleasant run in the woods, off the beaten path. This land is home to many special plants and wildlife, from pink and yellow ladyslippers to rare salamanders. Keep your eyes open, and you never know what you might see!

This trail is dedicated to Dr. Tom Florence and his wife Glenna, who 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.