Hanging Rock State Park

Students will learn about the Sauratown Mountains and the Saura Indians for which the mountains were named at Hanging Rock State Park. Ranger led programs are available for class field trips which correlate to the North Carolina curriculum for 5th through 8th grades.

Preview your trip on the web: Hanging Rock State Park

Learn more

• North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission - Wildlife Species and Habitat Information A North Carolina Wildlife Resources site with detailed information about wildlife resources and management in the state. Information about animals such as the wood duck, white-tailed deer, beaver, wild turkey, quail, sea turtles, and predators such as various owls, osprey, black bear, wild boar and the gray fox is found here.
• eNature.com Includes a field guide with over 5,000 species, a habitat gallery of places for wildlife near you, migration information, an ask-the-expert area, and more. You can also listen to an audio clip of the bird of the day!
• North Carolina Geological Survey Explore the geological maps of North Carolina, learn about the minerals that can be found there, and check out the questions that students are asking geologists.

Related pages

• Stone Mountain State Park: This park not only allows enjoying the beauty of the area but also provides instruction in basic geologic concepts.
• Occoneechee Mountain State Natural Area: Originally settled by the Occaneechi Band of the Saponi Nation, the Occoneechee Mountain State Natural Area has a diversity of natural communities including undisturbed forest and a wide variety of wildlife species.
• Discovery Place and the Charlotte Nature Museum: Discovery Place offers hands-on activities in all areas of science for students at both the Discovery Halls and Charlotte Nature Museum.

Related topics

• Learn more about American Indians, North Carolina, Piedmont Plateau, Saura Indians, Sauratown, Stokes County, amphibians, animals, biology, birds, cultural history, geology, habitat, mammals, natural history, parks, reptiles, and science.

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"Sheer cliffs and peaks of bare rock, quiet forests and cascading waterfalls, views of the piedmont plateau that stretch for miles" - this and much more can be found at Hanging Rock State Park. Visitors will learn about the natural and cultural history of the park and enjoy the interactive exhibits at the Visitor’s Center.

Park rangers hold regularly scheduled educational and interpretive programs about Hanging Rock State Park. To arrange a special exploration of the park for your group or class, contact the park office at (336) 593-8480.

Educational materials about Hanging Rock State Park have been developed for grades 5-8 and are correlated to North Carolina’s competency-based curriculum in science, social studies, mathematics and English/language arts. The Hanging Rock program introduces students to basic geologic concepts and relates the concepts to the Sauratown Mountain range. Accompanying the program is a teacher’s booklet and workshop, free of charge to educators.

Each state park and recreation area has an EELE curriculum guide that includes on-site activities, pre- and post-visit activities, student information pages, worksheets, fact sheets, vocabulary, and references.

The North Carolina State Parks website offers a search feature for finding the plants and animals that can be found at each state park. Using the drop-down menus, you can choose a park and either an amphibian, bird, reptile, mammal, fungus, insect, or vascular plant. You can search within each group by family, scientific name, or common name. There are photographs from the state parks and fun facts for some of the species.

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