COLE STILWELL COLUMN - The Midlands' best trails

Posted 12/25/19

Over the past 5 years, hiking has become my favorite activity. 

In 2015, my grandpa Chuck McCurry and I visited Colleton State Park near Walterboro. After a short 1/2 mile hike down to the …

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COLE STILWELL COLUMN - The Midlands' best trails

Posted

Over the past 5 years, hiking has become my favorite activity. 
In 2015, my grandpa Chuck McCurry and I visited Colleton State Park near Walterboro. After a short 1/2 mile hike down to the Edisto River, we were hooked on South Carolina’s State Parks. That day, we decided to see them all.
After 2 years, we completed our dream. Together,  we visited all 47 parks, leaving us with lifelong memories of our weekend road trips, hikes and experiences. Since then, we have discovered many more parks, trails and natural areas all over, many of them are well-kept secrets.
Hiking is fun, peaceful, healthy and a great way to see and explore new places. Some of my favorites are:
Congaree National Park, South Carolina’s only National Park, is just 30 minutes from Columbia. It protects over 26,000 acres of old-growth bottomland hardwood forest and cypress swamps. 
The 2-mile elevated boardwalk loops around a rare cypress swamp and is perfect for casual tourists. 
For more serious outdoorsmen, the park offers more than 20 miles of backcountry trails, a 15-mile kayak trail along Cedar Creek, and countless ponds and perfect fishing holes.
Landsford Canal State Park near Lancaster, sits right on the Catawba River, a wide and fast-flowing river perfect for fishing and kayaking. If you visit in May, make the short 1/2 mile hike to see the vast field of white Rocky Shoals Spider Lilies that blanket the river, the largest colony in the world. 
Poinsett State Park in Wedgefield is my favorite. It’s easily the most diverse state park, It protects 1,000 acres of high hills, coastal plains and bottomlands.        The park is home to over 25 miles of mountain hiking/biking trails including two sections of the Palmetto Trail. The area is known as the “mountains of the midlands.” I wouldn’t call them mountains but there is plenty of elevation. The main office sits on a picturesque 10-acre lake with fishing, hiking and boating.     
Other great parks to visit are Peachtree Rock in Edmund, south of Lexington, Dreher Island State Park near Chapin, Sumter National Forest in Whitmire, 40-Acre Rock in Kershaw, Aiken State Park and Goodale State Park near Camden. Anyone who has read my column should know I love the Palmetto Trail. It is South Carolina’s work-in-progress cross-state trail. The trail spans 350 miles across 29 different passages, or sections, from the intercoastal waterway to the mountains.
The Wateree Passage of the Palmetto Trail is my favorite in the Midlands. While this is a close call, the 11.4-mile section comes on top because of its unparalleled diversity, scenery and solitude.            The trail starts in Poinsett State Park and takes you through dense floodplains, up a ridgeline to Molly’s Bluff, where you can look out over the great Wateree Swamp before descending down into it.            You cross the swamp on an old railbed, allowing you to enjoy the scenery without hiking through a treacherous swamp. Finally, the trail crosses the Wateree River and continues onto a trailhead near Eastover. 
The Peak to Prosperity Passage of the PT is another great section in Peak near Newberry.  This is a popular section for great reason. For starters, its just a short 30-minute drive from here. 
The 10.8-mile trail starts at the Broad River along a beautiful, re-purposed railroad trestle offering great views. 
The rails-to-trails project will lead you along a nice, easy, wide path through rolling wooded hills and along the scenic Crims Creek, crossing it several times.
The Congaree and Saluda Riverwalks offer more than 12 miles of paved ADA accessible, multi-use trails perfect for hiking and biking. The trails run parallel to the scenic Congaree, Broad and Saluda Rivers. Several river overlooks can be found along the way. The River Alliance is working on expanding the Saluda Riverwalk from the Lake Murray Dam to the Broad River. 
The Midlands has so many fantastic trails that I can’t list them all. If you want to discover more, visit sctrails.net . 
 

trails, Congaree, state

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