Guide to Getting Away from the Sunnyside Traveler

2020 Hiking Post 4 You might remember how last May, we visited the  Battle of Rivers Bridge State Historic Site . Recently, we returned there so we could explore the park more. This site is the only SC State Park where Confederate soldiers fought Sherman's troops as he made his way from Savannah to Columbia. There is a short trail (less than a mile) that takes you around the battleground and shows you the battle and what conditions were like at the time. There are still earthen rifle pits and other embankments that the soldiers built. Lots of informational signs along the way. Rifle pit mounds Retreat Trail There's also another trail that marks the route that the soldiers took as they retreated and a cemetery that has the dead from the battle. The park is free and has good visuals of how the battle took place and who was involved in it. There is also a community center and some neat events that take place throughout the year that show you what life wa...

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...

2020 Hiking Post 2 I mentioned previously that even though we've been to all of the South Carolina State Parks, there were a few that we wanted to return to. One of these was Woods Bay State Park . This small park is near the town of Olanta, east of Sumter and just east of I-95. The park is surrounding what is called a Carolina Bay. Carolina bays are elliptical depressions in the coastal area of the Mid-Atlantic. Local author Tom Poland has a new book out about the Carolina Bays that I'm excited to check out. From the description of his book: " The best definition of these features are "temporary, isolated freshwater wetlands," variously described as "high or flatwater ponds, wet weather lakes, or vernal pools," often identified more accurately as "pocosins," and they are ecological wonders, full of all manner of amphibians and reptiles, insects and birds, wildlife and plants--many of them exotic and rare. What also defines them is th...

2020 Hiking #1 Happy New Year! We started off the new year with a new hike. It was a nice day here in South Carolina, clear and cool, so we decided to try a new section of the Palmetto Trail. I have wanted to hike the Wateree Passage since it's close to Columbia and crosses the Wateree River. The Wateree Passage is a little over 11 miles. It connects Highway 601 to Poinsett State Park where the High Hills of Santee Passage begins. We decided to start at the western end of the trail. It starts near Eastover on Highway 601, travels south along the highway for about 2.5 miles, then turns east and joins up with an old railroad bed to cross the Wateree River and the surrounding lowlands. Trailhead at Hwy. 601 The trail is pretty flat the whole way that we hiked. We crossed the Wateree River and hiked to the suspension bridge, which was about 4.25 miles. Our total hike was about 8.5 miles round trip. The section along 601 followed the highway but was in the trees. Some pa...

2019 Hiking Week 39 Happy December! It's been almost a year since I started posting about local South Carolina hikes and outdoor adventures. We have seen so much of the state. With just seven state parks left to visit this year, we have driven through almost every county in the state and I've learned more about the history and character of different regions of South Carolina. It's been a lot of fun and a lot of miles! The river coming from the dam. Recently, we visited Goodale State Park , outside of Camden. I had been saving this park because I wanted to paddle their blue trail for kayaks and canoes. But, the warm weather got away from us so we decided to go anyway on a Friday afternoon. It is a beautiful little park just outside of downtown Camden. The main feature is the civil war era mill lake with a paddling trail for visitors. There is also a nature hiking trail and some picnic and gathering spaces. We were able to walk around part of the lake on the d...

2019 Hiking week 27 I'm excited to share with you a new place this week. Swan Lake Iris Gardens is a free park in the City of Sumter. Sumter is only about an hour's drive east of Columbia and has a cute, recently renovated downtown area. Just west of downtown is the Swan Lake Iris Gardens. It's a large park that was made out of a cypress swamp. There is a walking path around a small lake where eight different species of swans live. Some of these swans were brought here as early as the 1930's. The park is known for its iris that bloom in the spring. I had hoped to visit this past spring to see them but didn't make it out. There are various educational opportunities while walking around the lake, like a "Talking Tree Trail", which teaches you about the various trees, and a butterfly garden. There's even a braille garden and a chocolate garden (plants that are chocolate varieties, not made of chocolate!). This past weekend, we brought our l...

2019 Hiking Week 11 Congaree Creek It was a beautiful weekend for getting outside. Of course, that means in South Carolina that the pollen is out as well. We were able to get back over to the Congaree Creek Heritage Preserve , which runs near the Timmerman Trail . Access to the trail is at the end of Old State Road, in Cayce. Online it says that the trail (called the Guignard Clay Quarry Loop Trail) is 2.5 miles, but when we started hiking, there was a map that showed a couple of trail options. There is a large loop which is about 3 miles. I'm assuming the 2.5 mile trail is the section that cuts across midway. We followed the short cut Sunday because it said that the other section is more prone to flooding. Even though it hasn't rained in Columbia in over a week, a lot of the trail was muddy. I guess the ground has just been so saturated recently that it needs more time to dry out. I highly recommend waterproof boots or shoes that you don't mind getting muddy. I th...

2019 SC Hiking Week 4 Poinsett State Park CCC Spillway and historic mill ruins. To celebrate a weekend where we had no rain, we traveled to Poinsett State Park , outside of Sumter. Only about an hour’s drive from Columbia. I was looking forward to visiting this park since I had seen some of the pictures on the website and it looked pretty. They also call this area “the mountains of the midlands” which I wanted to see if it lived up to that. I have to say that it was a really nice park. Bonus was that there was also a section of the Palmetto Trail that joined other trails in this park. And they have no entrance fees!  Driving out to the park, it was neat to see all the older large homes on Hwy 261. I find it fascinating that 150+ years ago, this area was a place where influential South Carolina families built large plantations and homes. Last year we were able to visit Kensington Mansion with Historic Columbia where we learned a lot about the history of the area....