Naturaland Trust Trail

The Naturaland Trust Trail loops along the exposed cliff edge above Raven Cliff Falls, providing the most dramatic and exposed hiking experience in the South Carolina state park system. The trail follows the bare granodiorite rim of the Caesars Head escarpment—a 2,000-foot-high cliff face—with sheer drops immediately adjacent to the path in places. The exposure and the 800-foot elevation gain over steep rocky terrain justifies the strenuous rating, but the views are correspondingly extraordinary.

From the cliff edge, the full Jocassee Gorges spread out below in a vista that encompasses some of the most biologically diverse temperate forest on earth—a landscape harboring 40-foot-tall native azaleas, 100-species-per-acre vascular plant diversity, and relic plant communities surviving from pre-glacial climates. Peregrine falcons nest on the cliff face below and are visible from the rim trail throughout breeding season (February through July). The trail passes the overlook above Raven Cliff Falls, where the top of the 420-foot falls is visible as the stream disappears over the granite edge. Broad-winged hawks stream past in their thousands during the September hawk migration, viewable from the cliff top at eye level. The loop descends via the Raven Cliff connector to complete the circuit.