By SCBIZ Staff

COLUMBIA -- Seventeen acres of woodlands high atop the Blue Ridge have been purchased by the S.C. Department of Parks, Recreation & Tourism.

Now part of Caesars Head State Park, the land includes frontage on U.S. 276 (Geer Highway) and is adjacent to the Raven Cliff Falls hiking trail, a 2.2-mile hike through the forest to the tallest waterfall in South Carolina.

The property was purchased from Greylogs LLC of Chapin, a private landowner. The transaction was made possible through the joint efforts of the landowner, Naturaland Trust, The Nature Conservancy, businessman and conservationist Ben Geer Keys of Greenville and the S.C. State Park Service, part of SCPRT.

"Securing this property for the people of South Carolina ensures that one of our most distinctive landscapes and picturesque views will remain intact," said SCPRT Director Chad Prosser.

An estimated 20,000 people a year take the walk to the 420-foot falls. The newly acquired land lies just north of the Caesars Head State Park headquarters and Raven Cliff Falls trail head and includes ridge line and level mountaintop property. Residential development has been accelerating along U.S. 276.

"Acquiring this small piece of land will make a huge difference in keeping the trail and the land around it just the way they are for generations to come." said Phil Gaines, director of the S.C. State Park Service. "There are 139 trails covering 354 miles in our state parks, but none more critical than the trail to Raven Cliff Falls." 

The purchase does not include the Greylogs homestead itself. The landmark building and three surrounding acres remain in private hands.

Funding for the $763,456 purchase of the 17 acres surrounding the homestead came from the Recreation Land Trust Fund, which provides state-funded reimbursable grants that can only be used for the acquisition of land for the purpose of public recreation. The Greylogs acquisition was approved in June by the State Budget and Control Board and closed last week.