The Catawba River is home to one of the nation’s rarest and most beautiful flowers.
I’ve wanted to see the Rocky Shoals Spider Lilies at their peak for quite a while but I haven’t had the chance until now.
This summer my grandpa and I set out on a quest to visit the world’s largest colony of these magnificent flowers during their full bloom at Landsford Canal State Park. 
Our trip started early on a clear June morning after making the 2-hour journey to another place I have put off visiting for way too long, 40 Acre Rock.
We arrived at a parking lot on the south side of the heritage preserve right down the street from the middle of nowhere.
The short hike was easy and flat all the way to the main attraction, the huge 40-acre rock. Well, the name lies a little, the rock is actually only 14 acres but It’s still massive. 
The huge rock offers seemingly endless views of Lancaster County’s rolling sandhills. The rock has its own rare and fragile ecosystem, home to mosses, flowers, and short grasses. 
In spring’s wet months, the rock is covered with small pools of rainwater giving mosses the shelter they need to flourish. 
As we traversed the rock, we heard the sound of rushing water in the valley below. I had to check it out. 
At the bottom, I was greeted with a small waterfall. Some more trekking across the rugged terrain brought us to more waterfalls, waterslides, and even a small cave! 
The preserve reminded me of Lexington County’s Peachtree Rock. 
After a quick lunch in Lancaster, we made it to Landsford Canal around 2 pm and the park was packed. People came from all over to see the rare Spider Lilies. 
The Catawba divides the park. Shoals, rocks, small rapids, islands, grasses and a huge field of Rocky Shoal Spider Lilies fill this wide, beautiful river. 
To see the gorgeous white flowers up close we would have to rent kayaks. Unfortunately they were all gone. 
We weren’t going to let that stop us. 
You can also see the flowers from an overlook about a 0.7-mile hike away. That’s where we headed. The trail runs along the river.
On the way, we enjoyed panoramic views of the Catawba River and glimpses into the past through the historic Landsford Canal. The canal helped make the Catawba commercially passable from 1820 to 1835.
At one point we decided to trek out into the shallows. Without our shoes, we waded to an island in the middle of the river where we were able to get some great panoramic pictures of beautiful shoals. 
We enjoyed our hike the rest of the way to the overlook. There we finally got to see what drew the crowd. 
Thousands of the Rocky Shoals Spider Lilies shot up from the river into a brilliant white bulb, blanketing large swaths of the river. The flower is rare. Only about 50 colonies can be found worldwide and this colony is by far the biggest.
According to The State newspaper, another small colony can be found in the Congaree River right by Columbia’s Riverfront Park.  
I took some pictures from the overlook but, wanting to get closer, we spent the next 30 minutes fording creeks and bushwhacking across islands. And find a better view we did. \
The spider lilies at Landsford Canal State Park, a short hour and 15-minute drive away, are a beautiful and rare spectacle to see in their month of bloom from mid-May to mid-June. 
Mark your calendars because the Catawba’s views are worth the trip.

To recommend places or topics for Cole Stilwell to write about, contact him at cole.lexchron@gmail.com .