Monday, February 14, 2011

Molly's Rock Recreation Area

Yesterday, on our drive back home from visiting Timmy and Dale, we stopped off at the Molly's Rock Recreation Area. I was hoping that there would be an actually giant rock there, but I couldn't find nearby. We did see a very large rock down the road a bit but it was behind a "posted" sign and one thing I don't do is trespass on posted land. I could have gotten a photo of it from the gravel road, but what I wanted to do was climb around the rocks. Oh, well.

The recreation area was pretty nice. Large groomed picnic area with tables and grills and there's a picnic pavilion there, too. Lots of nice pine trees, a small walking trail, a pond (with fishing), and the ruins of an old homestead. Nice for a weekend picnic, I reckon.

The pond and surrounding area.

Roofed picnic pavilion.

Little bridge and trail around the pond.

The small creek that feeds the pond.

Hand pump that works, as you can see. However, there is a warning not to drink the water.

Foundation ruins of the old homestead that once stood here.

5 comments:

Jack Thyen said...

I've never heard of that place.

James Robert Smith said...

It's in Sumter National Forest. Not a hotbed of hiking activity, I'm afraid. There are lots of game animals, though. We drove down a gravel side road and encountered a flock of wild turkey. One did not want to leave the road and just kept running down it in front of us. I must have chased him for three miles before I ran him over. (Just kidding.) But he did trot along in front of us for about a quarter of a mile and was exhausted by the time he decided to veer off the road.

James Robert Smith said...

I'm thinking now that this is an old CCC construction. I'd have to research it.

Larry Reid said...

It was built by the CCC. Since I live nearby, I'm researching the legend of Molly's Rock. The large boulders that you saw behind the posted sign were indeed Molly's Rock. There was an off off Broadway play written about the legend. Molly lived nearby and , during and after the Civil War, supposedly waited on the rock for her lover to come back from the war. According to legend, she would stop passer-byes and inquire about him. He was never heard from again and she died from a broken heart-or so the legend goes.

James Robert Smith said...

Yes, I can see where that would make a good romantic film.