Guide to Getting Away from the Sunnyside Traveler

Since the South Carolina State Parks have reopened on May 1, the parks have a limited number of visitors they can have there at one time. So far, each weekend, about 10 or more parks reach their capacity by noon. I've been keeping an eye on the parks to see which ones are the most popular and fill up the fastest. I thought I would share with you some of the fun but lesser known parks. Just be sure to check the state park facebook page to see the latest announcements. First, though, I should tell you the parks that are busiest and have the most restrictions. Edisto Beach State Park is only open to campers and those staying overnight (until May 11). No day visitors. Jones Gap State Park has a lot of restrictions on visitors. On the weekends, you have to purchase a parking pass before arriving. Other popular parks that are filling up on the weekends before noon: Paris Mountain, Caesars Head, Keowee-Toxaway, Table Rock, Kings Mountain, Landsford Canal, and Musgrove Mill. Basicall...

2020 Hiking Post 5 As a Gamecock fan, it can be hard to admit it but there are some nice spots for outdoor activities in Clemson. Since the school and town are located in the foothills of the mountains and there are many lakes in the area, trails and water activities are everywhere. Trail Map Just outside of the town of Clemson, is the Clemson Experimental Forest.   It is over 17,000 acres with miles of trails for hiking and mountain biking. It also borders part of Lake Hartwell. Many of the trails are mixed use but I had heard about a trail to a waterfall that was for hiking only. The Waldrop Stone Waterfall Trail is a short trail of about a mile that takes you along a creek to a couple of waterfalls. It has some challenging parts, where you have a steep descent to the waterfall (which means you have to hike back up that hill on the return), but they have built some steps and railings to help in sections. It’s also nice there are quite a few benches that you can ...

2020 Hiking Post 3 Outside of Greenville, near the town of Mauldin, there is a wilderness oasis in the suburbs. I had heard about Lake Conestee Nature Park and driven by it before but I didn't realize it was so large (400 acres) with so many trails. The Swamp Rabbit Trail has a 4 mile section through this park which runs north, past the park, to connect with the section of the trail on Cleveland Street. (Be advised, there is a section that is not complete on the trail where you have to go along side traffic on Parkins Mill Rd.) This nature park has miles of paved and unpaved trails (about 12 miles) that take you around the Reedy River and Lake Conestee. Lake Conestee was a man-made lake on the river that was built for the Conestee Mill in the early 1800s. The dam and mill are still there but everything is gated off. Looks like there is talk of renovation but we'll see if that takes off. It would be a great location. Conestee Mill When we visited, on a Sunda...

2019 Hiking Week 38 Croft State Park is over 7,000 acres outside of Spartanburg. It is a huge state park with trails for hiking, mountain biking, and horseback riding. There are also two lakes and many campsites, including a stable for horses. Entry is $2.00 per person. Bridge across the creek. We recently visited Croft State Park to hike a section of the Palmetto Trail. The trail covers over 12 miles, mostly in the park with a small section just north of the park entrance. We hiked the small section at the south of the park which crosses the Fairforest Creek and joins up with some of the mountain bike trails for about a mile. We added an extra loop around and enjoyed the fall leaves. While visiting, we found out that this area was originally settled by some farming families, then was converted into a training ground for the army in the early 1900's. It was opened as a state park in 1949. While we were hiking along the creek, we noticed some stacked stones and oth...

2019 Hiking Week 37 Table Rock Mountain Table Rock State Park is probably one of the most distinctive state parks in South Carolina. It is named after the iconic Table Rock mountain that is located in the park. The park is popular for hiking, camping, water activities, and gathering together with friends and family. The park is 30 miles from Greenville, 30 miles from Clemson, and the closest town, Pickens, is about 12 miles away. It costs $5.00 per adult for entrance. Easter 2018 I’ve visited Table Rock many times over the years. Our family has celebrated Easter and Thanksgiving at some of their shelters. It’s a pretty large park with lots of room. This past weekend, I attended the Women’s Outdoor Weekend, hosted by Palmetto Conservation Foundation. There were around 30 ladies attending, and we had class offerings on backpacking, kayaking, hiking, camping, and wilderness survival. I signed up for one day and attended the wilderness survival classes. We went through a fir...

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. Wildflowers along the trail. Along the way, the paved trail goes through neighborhoods, industrial areas, a cemetery, and even by what we call the "f...

Hiking 2019 week 28 Devil’s Fork State Park is on Lake Jocassee, in the mountains of South Carolina. If you’re looking for a place to cool off, I recommend this lake. It’s one of the prettiest lakes in South Carolina. Lake Jocassee doesn’t have much development. Most of the shoreline is prohibited from development. Also, the park is one of the few access points to the lake. So the boat traffic is pretty low compared to nearby Lakes Keowee and Hartwell. Because of the cold water temperatures and the location of the lake, the water is very clear and blue. It’s refreshing on a hot day.  There are many ways to enjoy Devil’s Fork State Park and Lake Jocassee. The park has campgrounds, a boat ramp, a swimming area, and paddle rentals. There are also trails in the park for hiking. Recently, we rented a tandem kayak and set off from the park along the shoreline. There were quite a few others on paddle boards and kayaks too. We found a couple of places along the way that had beach ...

2019 Hiking Week 26 Chester State Park & Musgrove Mill State Historic Site Horseshoe Falls at Musgrove Mill As I mentioned before, I enjoy little day trips around the area to see new places. The best is when you get there by back roads. One Sunday afternoon, we decided to take a short trip up north of Columbia on Highway 321 to Chester State Park . The park is about an hour's drive from Columbia, outside of the town of Chester. We were pleasantly surprised by the park. It has a nice sized lake that has no motor boats on it. You can rent kayaks and other small boats to go out on the lake or you can fish from the long boardwalk they have crossing a section of the lake. Fishing Bridge There are gathering spaces, campgrounds, and playgrounds for people to use. They also have a disc golf course . It was a pretty quiet park, especially for a Sunday in the summer. Most of the people we saw were fishing. There are also a couple of trails around the lake. ...

2019 Hiking Week 23 Brookwood Park Trail Section Hi all! Sorry I'm a bit behind on my posting. We haven't been doing many adventures since the weather is hot and buggy. This past weekend, to escape the heat, we traveled to the upstate and visited a small section of the Palmetto Trail that goes through Landrum. Downtown Landrum Landrum is a small town off of I-26 near the North Carolina state line. It's not far from Tryon, North Carolina, and the area is known for the horse farms. Two sections of the Palmetto Trail meet in Landrum. One is the Blue Wall Passage , which goes around Lake Lanier and other natural areas. The other is the Peach Country Passage , which follows back-roads from Inman to Landrum. From what I can tell, both of these passages have large sections that are on roads and highways. They mention that they are best for cycling along. But at the place where the two passages meet, Brookwood Park in Landrum, has a nice trail loop. From that park, i...