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Sunrise, Sunset, and an Eclipse
Written By: Jessica Blackburn Americorps, Highlands-Cashiers Land Trust | Issue: April 2024
Highlands-Cashiers Land Trust will be holding a solar celebration atop Sunset Rock (of course!) on April 8. Everyone is invited – for more information, contact [email protected] or call (828) 525-1111.
This year the Plateau will be experiencing 84 percent totality during an April 8 solar eclipse.
Highlands-Cashiers Land Trust will be celebrating with a self-paced hike, crafts, educational talks, and light refreshments on Sunset Rock. Members of HCLT and The International Friendship Center will give various talks ranging from the cultural history of Ravenel Park, the geology of Sunset Rock, and different cultural legends about eclipses. HCLT will have a limited amount of solar glasses but feel free to bring your own!
This event is free and open to children, adults, and families. No reservations are necessary, just hike up to the summit anytime between 1:00 and 4:30 P.M. with talks at 1:30 P.M., 2:15 P.M., and 3:00 P.M. Sunset Rock parking is located across from Highlands Biological Station.
Ravenel Park was donated to Highlands-Cashiers Land Trust to be maintained as a public preserve by the Ravenel family in 1914, making it the second property protected by the Land Trust that now conserves over 130 properties in and around Cashiers and Highlands. Ravenel Park is a 10.0 acres tract that provides a 0.6-mile (out-and-back) walking trail that leads to two overlooks, Sunrise Rock and Sunset Rock. Ravenel Park is not only popular amongst locals and tourists, but it is also an Important Bird Area for neotropical birds. This park also sits on the eastern continental divide with the rain falling on Sunset Rock flowing into the Little Tennessee drainage and water falling on Sunrise Rock flowing into the Savannah River Drainage. Ravenel Park is a unique property that contains important ecological features that provides extensive views of Horse Cove via Sunrise Rock and the town of Highlands via Sunset Rock.
Highlands-Cashiers Land Trust is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization with the mission “to protect valuable natural resources for all generations.” HCLT, formerly known as Highlands Improvement Society, was formed in 1909 when a group of townspeople in Highlands came together and purchased the top of Satulah Mountain. HCLT currently protects over 4,000 acres in Macon and Jackson County. Through Stewardship of the land and education of the public, the Highlands-Cashiers Land Trust continues to advocate for living organisms, water, and land of the Plateau.
Contact [email protected] or call (828) 526-1111.
