Doodle Trail
2019 Hiking Week 31
Over the Labor Day weekend, I took advantage of the cooler & drier weather and biked the Easley to Pickens Doodle Trail. This trail is about 7 1/2 miles long and runs on an old railroad line from Easley to Pickens. Easley is about half way between Clemson and Greenville. It's a fun trail that isn't as popular as the Swamp Rabbit Trail and has more hills than other rails-to-trails trails.
This weekend, it was pretty busy with many others taking advantage of the nice weather. There are multiple areas that you can park to access the trail. There is access from downtown Easley, a park just outside of Easley, and the new Doodle Park in downtown Pickens. We tried to park in the park outside of Easley but it was full. So we drove a little down the trail to another parking area near an old factory.
Along the way, the paved trail goes through neighborhoods, industrial areas, a cemetery, and even by what we call the "farm machine graveyard", where there is some older farm equipment t
hat is covered in vines. It's a fun and interesting path. This time of year, there are a lot of morning glory vines along the way, in all different colors. It seems like all year round there is some sort of wild flower blooming along the way. It's hard not to stop every few minutes! There are also goats and wildlife that can be spotted along the trail.
I recommend bringing your bike (there are no local bike rentals in the area right now, you could see about renting some from Greenville or Clemson) to Easley in the morning, then bike to Pickens, where you can have a snack at Coyote Coffee, not far from the Doodle Park. Then bike back to Easley and you can have lunch downtown or visit The Pint Station for a drink. If you are in Easley on a Saturday morning during the warmer months, they have a farmers market that is nice to check out. I would plan for the trip to take about one hour each way, at a leisurely pace. There is a small pull off along the way you can stop to rest or work on your bike with their repair station. It's near the middle of the trail. You can also walk or run on the trail and decide how many of the miles you want to finish.
I hope you can visit the Doodle Trail soon! It's a fun trail that is a little lesser known than the Swamp Rabbit Trail and provides some nice views of the mountains.
Over the Labor Day weekend, I took advantage of the cooler & drier weather and biked the Easley to Pickens Doodle Trail. This trail is about 7 1/2 miles long and runs on an old railroad line from Easley to Pickens. Easley is about half way between Clemson and Greenville. It's a fun trail that isn't as popular as the Swamp Rabbit Trail and has more hills than other rails-to-trails trails.
This weekend, it was pretty busy with many others taking advantage of the nice weather. There are multiple areas that you can park to access the trail. There is access from downtown Easley, a park just outside of Easley, and the new Doodle Park in downtown Pickens. We tried to park in the park outside of Easley but it was full. So we drove a little down the trail to another parking area near an old factory.
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| Wildflowers along the trail. |
Along the way, the paved trail goes through neighborhoods, industrial areas, a cemetery, and even by what we call the "farm machine graveyard", where there is some older farm equipment t
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| Along the trail |
I recommend bringing your bike (there are no local bike rentals in the area right now, you could see about renting some from Greenville or Clemson) to Easley in the morning, then bike to Pickens, where you can have a snack at Coyote Coffee, not far from the Doodle Park. Then bike back to Easley and you can have lunch downtown or visit The Pint Station for a drink. If you are in Easley on a Saturday morning during the warmer months, they have a farmers market that is nice to check out. I would plan for the trip to take about one hour each way, at a leisurely pace. There is a small pull off along the way you can stop to rest or work on your bike with their repair station. It's near the middle of the trail. You can also walk or run on the trail and decide how many of the miles you want to finish.
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