Parson’s Mountain is located 5 miles from Abbeville. There is a nominal fee to use the park’s facilities, and camping is $3.50 a person per night. The park has a small lake with a swimming area, and fishing is allowed on Wednesdays and Saturdays. Established campsites are grouped together, and in addition to tents, campers and RVs are allowed. Within the campground is a convenience center with bathrooms and showers. Also on site are trashcans and water pumps. In each campsite is a fire ring with a partial grill cover. Some of the sites are placed close together, but others are a little more isolated. During the summer finding a site is easy, but come early during the fall because Parson’s Mountain is a popular place.

There are several hiking trails, four-wheeler trails, and a horse trail within the park. The one-mile trail that leads to the abandoned gold mines winds slowly uphill through a heavily wooded area near the Parson’s Mountain Lake. All along the trail are trees that (we think) have been gnawed by beavers. There are also a couple of spots where the trail intersects or branches into other trails. This was a little confusing, but if you pay attention, it’s no problem.

At one point, the trail crossed over a gravel road and then continued up on the other side. It’s about a 2-3 minute walk from the gravel road to the abandoned Civil War Era gold mines. The mines are a little disappointing. There are no markers giving information on the mines, and the mines are really only holes in the ground surrounded by a chain link fence. There aren’t even signs that say "keep out" or "danger." It’s about a 5-10 minute walk to the old fire watchtower, located at the top of the mountain past the goldmines. If you walk quietly and watch carefully, you may see deer on or by the trail. They spook easily, so you may only catch the flash of a white tail.

We also hiked the trail that goes around the lake. It was an easy hike, but we had to clear spider webs with almost every step we took. It was like a scene from Arachnophobia. Spiders were everywhere, but that also signaled that the trail is rarely used. If you don’t mind the eight-legged creepy crawlies, the hike is nice and peaceful with a few nice views of the lake.

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