Florence Nature Preserve Access Trail

This trail begins at the Upper Hickory Nut Gorge Trailhead parking area and gains elevation quickly. Follow the numbered yellow blazes to stay on track. There are several locust log staircases that switchback up for the first quarter mile of trail. The trail evens out after you pass a dilapidated shack, the remains of an old homesite. You'll eventually intersect the Blue Trail, one of the many trails that makeup the network of Florence Nature Preserve. Dr. Tom Florence and his wife Glenna 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.