Guide to Getting Away from the Sunnyside Traveler

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 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...

2019 Hiking week 34 Hi all. I know it’s been awhile since I’ve posted. I’ve been busy traveling and celebrating my birthday. It’s been a busy past few weeks. This past weekend the weather was pretty iffy. They were calling for rain but then it ended up not being too bad, even though it was warm. So Friday we headed out to Irmo, just outside of Columbia, to hike in Harbison State Forest . I would guess that most people in Columbia have been to Harbison State Forest, or at least have heard of it. It’s a nice park with over 2,000. There are multiple trails that you can hike or mountain bike on.  Over the years, we have visited Harbison Forest multiple times. There are lots of different trails we can hike on and they are well marked. Many are 3-4 miles long which is good for an hour or two hike. I like some of the trails that go all the way to the Broad River. The area is mostly pine trees and sandy soil and there are a variety of difficulty levels to pick from.  ...

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 24 6 months into this South Carolina adventure and still so many places to share with you! We recently visited Aiken State Park and Redcliffe Plantation State Historic Site. They are about 30 minutes apart on either side of Aiken. The Aiken Park Office has a nice space to relax. Aiken State Park is about an hour's drive from downtown Columbia. It's a large park with over 1000 acres. Features of the park are fishing ponds, the Edisto River, and a swimming area. There are also campsites and a 3 mile hiking trail. Even though it costs $2.00 per person to enter the park, there have not been a lot of improvements to the facilities. I was interested to see that the park was the second state park built in South Carolina. I can see how this would be a great place for people in the area to retreat to. I am especially interested to return and possibly kayak the Edisto River. You can rent canoes from the park for $20 to do the almost 2 mile river trail. The Edi...

2019 Hiking Week 22 One of my favorite back roads drives in South Carolina is Highway 321, from Columbia to Hardeeville. We take this highway whenever we go to Savannah. Even though I've grown up in a time when interstates are ubiquitous and everyone wants to get where they're going as soon as possible, there were times when my parents took me on back roads drives and weekend explorations. I remember some Sundays, after church, driving out to have lunch in Prosperity and exploring the towns around Lake Murray. These days, we turn to the highways of South Carolina whenever we can, especially when we expect traffic to be heavy on the interstates. Lately, I have enjoyed seeing these small towns that I usually only see as names on a map or an exit sign. You'll remember when we visited Lake Wateree, we also went through the town of Great Falls. Now I have a picture of the town when I see that name. Years ago, when travelling to Savannah, we started getting off the inter...

2019 Hiking Week 19 Many of you may have already heard about the Swamp Rabbit Trail in the Greenville area. The trail is said to be 22 miles long, with other side trails and extensions either completed or planned. The Swamp Rabbit was one of the first "rails-to-trails" I had been on but I now like to use it as much as possible. Currently, the trail runs from the south end of Greenville all the way to Travelers Rest. There is another small section of the trail south of I-85 around Lake Conestee. I like the Swamp Rabbit Trail because it is mostly flat and you can bike, walk, or run quite a few miles. I have used it in the past when training for half marathons. It's so helpful that they have mile markers along the way. Also, there are usually other people on the trail, even in the middle of winter. It can get pretty busy during the warmer months with families and groups out biking and walking. I recommend getting an early start if you want to avoid the crowds. Yea...

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...

2019 Hiking Week 17 Back in March I featured the Timmerman Trail and Congaree Creek Heritage Preserve . Connecting to the Timmerman Trail, and near Congaree Creek, is the Three Rivers Greenway. It's also called the Riverwalk here in Columbia. There are a few sections to this trail that will (hopefully) all connect together in the future. They follow the Saluda, Broad, and Congaree Rivers and I am so glad our community has set these places aside for trails. Year-round you can see visitors and people from the area out walking, biking, running, and picnicking along the trails. For Easter Sunday, we actually had a picnic at the Columbia Canal Riverwalk (which is part of the Palmetto Trail). The Three Rivers Greenway is made up of sections at the Columbia Canal, Cayce Riverwalk, Timmerman Trail, and the soon-to-open Saluda Riverwalk. There is also a spur of the trail that is in the Granby Mill Village area. The website says there are at least 12.5 miles of trails but I think it...