POMARIA — The Palmetto Trail is the Palmetto Conservation’s biggest imitative, according to Natalie Britt,executive director of the Palmetto Conservation Foundation.
Britt gave a brief presentation on the Palmetto Trail during the July 31 Governmental Association meeting in Pomaria.
“So what is the Palmetto Trail, and why does it matter? In the mid 1990s our Board of Directors were around the table and they were talking about ways to promote the state of South Carolina. All of our natural beauty, small towns, communities you may not have visited,” Britt said. “The idea came together (for the Trail) it was really spearheaded by Governor Carroll Campbell, this was his baby. He got behind it and allocated the first state funding for developing the system.”
The Palmetto Trail runs from Oconee County to Awendaw, in the Lowcountry. The Trail is built in a series of passages, 27 to be exact. Britt said that together these passages truly tell the story of South Carolina.
“Each passage is unique and tells a story. We have something for everybody, if you want to just go out for a stroll with you children, we have flat easy sections, want a multi day backpacking adventure and see waterfalls, we have that as well. We have biking, equestrian and hiking opportunities,” Britt said.
During her presentation, Britt gave a taste of what the Palmetto Trail has to offer.
“Our Lowcountry terminus is in Awendaw which is in the Francis Marion National Forest. Part of the goal of the trail is to connect all of our incredible public land, so our national forest, state forest, state parks, and connect those pieces through private land ownership,” Britt said. “The Awendaw passage is one of our singular most popular passages. Over 7,000 users used this passage in the middle of nowhere in May of this year. What we love about this passage is it is super flat, super easy, super family friendly. If you are new to trail biking, this is a great place to have your first adventure.”
The Swamp Fox passage, located in the Coastal Region, is the longest section of the passage at 47 miles. Britt said this passage is popular with bikepacking. Lake Marion, located in the Sandhills Region of the Trail, starts taking you more into the wilderness.
“This is one of my personal favorites, offers some unique experiences in the Lowcountry. This area was a hot bed for the Revolutionary War,” Britt said.
The Fort Jackson Passage, in the Sandhills Region, actually took an act of Congress to become a passage, with the help of Strom Thurmond.
“Fort Jackson is actually a great partnership, the army base is actually starting to work on this passage for therapy, we have a soldier that is getting ready to walk the entire trail, raising awareness about PTSD for veterans. He is partnering with Fort Jackson about the importance of nature for veterans that are suffering from PTSD,” Britt said.
Peak to Prosperity, in Sandhills Region and also in Newberry County, is 10.8 miles of rail trail conversion. Britt said this is definitely one of the most popular sections of the trail.
The Blue Ridge Electric Co-Op, in the Upstate Region, is what Britt described as 12.3 stunning miles through Table Rock State Park into Jocassee Gorges through DNR in Pickens County.
“Great waterfalls, killer backpacking, great views. Most of it was burned in the fall in that massive fire in Pickens County. We were able to re-open in less than six months, we are really proud of that,” Britt said.