DESCRIPTION:   

DIRECTIONS:                                                                                                                             FROM AUGUSTA :

1) After roughly 10 miles going South East on I-520 take the Laney-Walker Road  exit and turn right.
2) At the end of Laney-Walker (about 1/2 mile) turn right on Sand Bar Ferry Road to go across the Savannah River to South Carolina .  You'll be on SC 278 headed thru Beech Island SC and towards Petticoat Junction and Barnwell SC.
3)On 278 at the Petticoat Junction traffic light turn left on SC 302, a.k.a. Silver Bluff Road , toward Aiken.
4) At the bottom of the second valley on Silver Bluff Road turn left onto Boyd Pond Road . There's an Operations Recreation Assn. sign and a little Silver Bluff fire station within 50 yards of the intersection.

 
If traveling north on 302, turn left onto Boyd Pond Road.  The entrance to Boyd Pond Road  is marked by a large sign, made of railroad ties, indicating Operations Recreational Association.  Behind this sign is a power transformer station and on the opposite side of 302 is a volunteer fire station.  Travel on Boyd Pond Road approximately 2 miles until you just past the lake on your right.  Take the next right hand turn to enter the ORA facility.  This entrance is marked by a white metal swing gate and railroad tie retention walls.  Travel approximately 0.25 mile until the road forks.  This fork will either take you to the lower parking lot for softball or the upper parking lot for the bike kiosk and observatory.  Take the left fork and proceed uphill in the same direction as the observatory.  Travel approximately 0.2 mile until the road opens into the upper parking lot.  The observatory and bike kiosk will be on the right side of the parking lot overlooking the softball fields.  

If traveling south on 302, turn right onto Boyd Pond Road.  The entrance to Boyd Pond Road  is marked by a large sign, made of railroad ties, indicating Operations Recreational Association.  Behind this sign is a power transformer station and on the opposite side of 302 is a volunteer fire station.  Travel on Boyd Pond Road approximately 2 miles until you just past the lake on your right.  Take the next right hand turn to enter the ORA facility.  This entrance is marked by a white metal swing gate and railroad tie retention walls.  Travel approximately 0.25 mile until the road forks.  This fork will either take you to the lower parking lot for softball or the upper parking lot for the bike kiosk and the observatory.  Take the left fork and proceed uphill in the same direction as the observatory.  Travel approximately 0.2 mile until the road opens into the upper parking lot.  The observatory and bike kiosk will be on the right side of the parking lot overlooking the softball fields.