Hanging Rock Scenic Byway

Hanging Rock Scenic Byway winds 72 miles through the Sauratown Mountains in North Carolina's northwestern Piedmont, named for a granite outcrop above the surrounding farmland. The byway threads through Hanging Rock State Park, established in the 1930s and now home to more than 20 miles of trails, 73 campground and picnic sites, and Cascade Falls, which drops 200 feet over its upper falls and another 60 feet below. History lines the route too: Tory's Den, a cave that sheltered Loyalists hiding from Patriot forces during the Revolutionary War, and the Horne Creek Living Historical Farm in Pinnacle, which recreates farm life on the North Carolina piedmont a century ago. The byway passes through Mount Airy, the real-life inspiration for Andy Griffith's fictional Mayberry, whose local granite quarry supplied stone for the Wright Brothers National Memorial in Kill Devil Hills, and Danbury, a town founded in 1849 on ground once dotted with Indian villages. Hiking, rock climbing, and horseback riding round out a route built as much for stopping as for driving.

• Sauratown Mountains
• 72 miles
• Hanging Rock State Park
• Cascade Falls (200 ft + 60 ft)
• Tory's Den (Revolutionary War cave)
• Mount Airy / Mayberry
• Danbury