On April 20, 1936, the Winston-Salem Foundation and the Stokes County Committee for Hanging Rock donated 3,096 acres (1,253 ha) to North Carolina for establishing a state park.

After the state acquired the property, the Civilian Conservation Corps built the original facilities between 1935 and 1942, including the construction of a 12-acre (4.9 ha) lake and bathhouse that was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1991.

[4][5] Additional land acquisitions in the 1970s added to the park the Lower Cascades, a spectacular 40-foot (12 m) waterfall, and the Tory's Den, a rock outcropping rumored to have served as a hideout for British Loyalists during the American Revolutionary War.

Another large land purchase in 2000 added Flat Shoals Mountain, a smaller summit visible from the top of Hanging Rock, to the park.

Carolina and Canadian hemlock grow alongside each other, and in the spring visitors can view the colorful displays of rhododendron, mountain laurel, pinxter azalea, and a number of other wildflowers.

Hanging Rock State Park offers over 48 miles (77 km) of trails where visitors can hike to its numerous peaks and waterfalls.