Guide to Getting Away from the Sunnyside Traveler

2019 Hiking Week 36 Hope you are enjoying the winter weather we are having! It seems like in South Carolina we just skipped fall and went straight into winter. But don't let the cold weather stop you from going outside! This past weekend we visited King's Mountain State Park , about 2 hours from Columbia, outside of York, and on the border of North Carolina. It was a cold day but the sun was bright and the fall leaves were abundant. Kings Mountain State Park is a large park that is next to Kings Mountain National Military Park . It is the site of a Revolutionary War battle victory for the Americans. The park is over 6000 square miles and has a lot of long trails for visitors. Some trails are accessible for horseback riding. There is also a campground and options for back country camping, even with your horse. There's a nice lake and a replica of an 1800's farm house. The cost for admission is $2.00 per person. When trying to decide what trail we would hike,

2019 Hiking Week 29 Most of the time, people in Columbia take I-77 North to visit Charlotte. Whether it's for a flight, a concert, or just to shop at IKEA, many drive right past the Rock Hill area. Rock Hill is home to Winthrop Univeristy and has become a suburb of Charlotte. I enjoy stopping there on my way in or out of Charlotte, or sometimes we go there just because of the good restaurants and breweries there.  Recently, we were going to be in the area so I wanted to stop by the Glencairn Gardens . They were featured in the book "Classic Carolina Roadtrips"  and I thought of how many times I had been to Rock Hill but hadn't seen these gardens. They are just outside of downtown Rock Hill. Since we visited in the middle of summer, it was pretty green but not a lot of flowers. The park is 11 acres in the middle of an older neighborhood. It has many different sections: lawn, amphitheater, ponds, waterfalls, a "victory garden" and children's

2019 Hiking week 20 This time of year is the best time to visit Landsford Canal State Park . The park is known as a prime location to view Rocky Shoals Spider Lilies. There are only a few places where these flowers grow in the Southeast. There are three locations in South Carolina - Columbia, McCormick County, and the Catawba River near Landsford Park. These flowers like to grow in the rocks in rivers and begin blooming around mid-May.  Last year, I was able to visit the park with my mom in May. They have a short trail that leads from the parking area along the river to a viewing spot for the lilies. When we were walking along the trail, we kept looking for the flowers but didn't see them. We were worried that we were too early but once we got too the viewing deck, we were able to see tons of them. It was really surprising. It ended up raining on us but we had a good time checking out the park and the trails. The park is actually a historical site of the

2019 Hiking week 18 This weekend was pretty busy so I didn't get a chance to go hike anywhere. But last weekend, besides walking the Three Rivers Greenway , we also visited the Lake Wateree State Park . We had never been to this state park and I had never been to Lake Wateree (that I remember). The lake is about 40 miles north of downtown Columbia. It's a popular place for people in the area to boat and cool off in the summer. Some also have lake homes in the area. Lake Wateree State Park is primarily a place for people to camp and be on the lake. There's a small nature trail and a playground area but not much else. Admission is $2.00 per person which is paid at a collection post. There is a nice drive to the park which cuts across the lake. It was a pretty view and we even spotted a turtle trying to cross the road. Or maybe he was just warming up in the sunshine. But it's a nice park that I imagine gets pretty busy during peak boating times. It would be nice to