Pilot Mountain State Park » History
ALL PARK BRIDLE TRAILS WILL BE CLOSED AFTER RAIN AND UNTIL THE TRAIL SURFACE IS DRY.THESE CLOSURES ARE MADE TO PROTECT THE NATURAL RESOURCE, REDUCE COSTLY MAINTENANCE AND TO KEEP THESE TRAILS OPEN FOR HORSEBACK RIDING IN THE FUTURE.
YOU CAN CHECK TRAIL STATUS BY CALLING OR EMAILING THE PARK OFFICE.
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Bridle Trail users and MST Hikers: The privately owned portion of the Sauratown Trail is closed between Pilot Mountain State Park and Coon Rd due to landowner wishes.
... details ±The privately owned and maintained portion of the Sauratown Trail is closed between Pilot Mountain State Park and Coon Rd due to landowner wishes.
For more information see the following link:
http://www.sauratowntrails.org/
The N.C. Division of Parks and Recreation will conduct a prescribed burn at Pilot Mountain State Park in Surry County between mid-December and mid-January.
The burn will be conducted in upper elevations of the park’s mountain section. The public will not be allowed to enter this mountain section during the burn event, although the river section and corridor trail will remain open.
In order to minimize smoke the low-intensity, prescribed burn will only be carried out under strictly defined weather conditions of a fire management plan. On the selected day, the burn will begin in the late morning and will likely end on the same day, though smoke may be visible at high elevations in the evening.
On the day when the fire is to begin, safety signs will be posted on area roadways to alert motorists and an alert will be posted on the Pilot Mountain State Park page of the division’s website, www.ncparks.gov. For further information, call the park office at (336) 325-2355.
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The 21 mile Sauratown Trail Section connecting Pilot Mtn. State Park to Hanging Rock State park is closed to all use for hunting season. This trail is 90% on private property.Please abide by this seasonal closure to ensure this trail remains available for the public to enjoy.
ATTENTION HORSEBACK RIDERS -ALL BRIDLE TRAILS WILL BE CLOSED AFTER RAIN/ICE/SNOW
To preserve park bridle trails for your continued use and enjoyment, all trails are closed to use by horses after rain. Riding on wet trails creates hazardous areas and erodes the trail. Riding trails when wet will cause their closure for maintenance and/or their closure to bridle use. If it has rained, wait to ride another day. If you want to know the weather for Pilot Mountain State Park you may check it at this address:
http://tinyurl.com/PilotMtnWeather
Trails will be closed after .5" or more of rain. Trail conditions will be checked daily by park staff during a closure and will reopen after the trail surface has dried.
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Attention Rock Climbers
Climbing route closures: "Unnamed/P.Break" climbing route in the amphitheater has been permanently closed due to visitor use conflicts. The "Big Gully" is closed to all use (CLIMBING, HIKING, RAPPELLING, ETC.) for natural resource protection. This closure does not affect adjacent routes.
Climbers and Hikers are reminded that this area can become congested. Do not block the Ledge Springs trail with your gear, rope, dogs, or group. Pets must be attended (not tied off on a tree and left alone) and leashed while in the climbing area.
Updated: 2012-01-10 15:31:47
Like the rocky escarpments in nearby Hanging Rock State Park, Pilot Mountain is a remnant of the ancient
Sauratown Mountains. A quartzite monadnock, this rugged mountain rock has survived for millions of years
while the elements have eroded surrounding peaks to a rolling plain.
Pilot Mountain is capped by two prominent pinnacles. Big Pinnacle, with walls of bare rock and a rounded
top covered by vegetation, rises 1,400 feet above the valley floor, the knob jutting skyward more than 200
feet from its base. Big Pinnacle is connected to Little Pinnacle by a narrow saddle. Visitors have easy
access to the top of Little Pinnacle where the view encompasses hundreds of square miles of the Piedmont
and the nearby mountains of North Carolina and Virginia.
To the native Saura Indians, the earliest known inhabitants of the region, Pilot Mountain was known as
Jomeokee, the "Great Guide" or "Pilot." It guided both Native Americans and early European hunters along a
north-south path through the area. The Sauras were driven southward by the Cherokees, who subsequently
occupied the area. Further settlement in the area was led by Moravians, but the population remained sparse
during colonial times due to frontier turbulence created by an alliance between the Cherokees and the
British.
The mountain was mapped in 1751 by Joshua Fry and Peter Jefferson, father of President Thomas Jefferson.
Pilot Mountain became North Carolina's 14th state park in 1968, due in large part to the efforts of a group
of local citizens. Prior to that time, the mountain was a commercial tourist attraction. The Pilot Mountain
Preservation and Park Committee proposed the establishment of Pilot Mountain as a state park in order to
protect it and the surrounding area from further commercial development. Working with the
conservation-minded owner of the property, Mrs. J.W. Beasley, the group secured options on the land and
raised matching funds that made it possible to purchase the land with federal grants. In further support of
the park, the committee acquired more than 1,000 acres of land along the Yadkin River that was added to the
park in 1970. Additional acreage was later acquired, bringing the park to its present size of 3,703 acres.
Today, Pilot Mountain stands as a monument to the desire and concern of a citizenry dedicated to preserving
the natural resources of North Carolina.
Learn about rural life in the past by visiting Horne Creek Farm. This state historic site is adjacent to
the Yadkin River section of the park. Currently being restored to appear as it did in 1900, the farm is an
educational center dedicated to preserving North Carolina's rural heritage. Visitors may experience North
Carolina's agricultural past by participating in hands-on programs held on Saturdays and Sundays, April
through October. Special tours and educational programs may be arranged throughout the year by calling
(336) 325-2298.