Aunt Sue's Country Corner

Cleveland, SC up to Caesars Head State Park summit, ~6 mi of SC climbing. Tight switchbacks, steep grades up the Blue Ridge Escarpment, decreasing-radius turns, ~3,200 ft summit. **SC's most technical paved mountain road.**

Atop the Blue Ridge Escarpment at 3,200 feet, the Caesars Head State Park overlook delivers one of the widest panoramas in the Upstate — sweeping views extend into North Carolina and Georgia on clear days, taking in Table Rock, Sassafras Mountain, and the Dismal Forest. The rocky granitic-gneiss outcrop that gives the park its name is a two-minute walk from the visitor center parking lot on US-276 (Geer Highway). The overlook is also the premier raptor-watching perch in the region: thousands of hawks, eagles, and vultures funnel past the escarpment edge each fall (September–November). The visitor center has trail maps, a small gift shop, and restrooms. Park hours are 9 a.m. to sunset; admission is charged per vehicle.

Built between 1909 and 1911, Campbell's Covered Bridge at 171 Campbell Covered Bridge Road in Landrum is the only remaining covered bridge in South Carolina. The Queenpost-truss timber bridge spans Beaverdam Creek in a shaded hollow off the Cherokee Foothills Scenic Highway corridor. Greenville County closed it to motorized traffic in the early 1980s and converted the surrounding land into a passive park with a large paved parking area, interpretive signage about the old grist mill, picnic spots, and creek access for wading on hot days. The bridge itself is a 35-foot walk from the parking lot.