Visitors soon to get better access to SC’s highest peak

COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — Visitors will soon have an easier time enjoying views from atop Sassafras Mountain, the highest peak in South Carolina.

Duke Energy on Friday presented a gift of $350,000 to the board of the state Department of Natural Resources. That will allow the agency to begin building a new observation platform atop the mountain.

Fund-raising for the platform has now reached a half-million dollars and that’s enough so construction can begin.

Work on building the platform is expected to begin this summer and take less than six months to complete. Other amenities, including restrooms, a picnic area and an upgraded trail to the platform, will require more money.

The mountain in northern Pickens County is 3,500 feet high and from its peak one can see into both Georgia and North Carolina.