NEWBERRY — During the inaugural Open Streets event, and the kick-off of the Grow Newberry Farmer’s Market, the City of Newberry celebrated the newest addition of the Palmetto Trail with a ribbon cutting.
“The trail comes right down through Main Street, loops the square, heads out to College Street, goes down and ties in to our next passage, the Enoree Passage,” said Furman Miller, regional trail coordinator for the Palmetto Trail. “On behalf of the Palmetto Conservation District, just like to say how proud we are to be able to do this, how grateful for the support from the City of Newberry.”
Miller said the goal of the Palmetto Trail is to highlight everything South Carolina has to offer, from the beautiful nature to the historic towns, such as Newberry.
“Newberry is a strategic place, because the next largest city heading up to the west is Spartanburg. Perfect place to stop, rest, enjoy fine restaurants and shopping,” he said.
Sharon Givens, communication specialist with the Palmetto Trail, said this section of Newberry on the trail means they have closed another gap on the trail.
“The Palmetto Trail has 380 miles on the ground, built in discrete passages so they all connect up at some point, and at that point the trail will be in the neighborhood of 500 miles,” Givens said.
This new section of trail adds about five or six miles to the Palmetto Trail, according to Givens.
“Furman has already got the small signs marking the trail up. What we are missing are the kiosks at this point, we will have a kiosk on either end of the trail, and if the city gives us permission, we’d love to put one downtown somewhere. So if folks are milling around downtown, they can get an idea of how extensive the trail is,” she said.
Mayor Foster Senn said, during the official ribbon cutting ceremony Sunday, that the City of Newberry is excited about the opening of the Palmetto Trail in Newberry. He voiced his appreciation to the representatives of the Palmetto Trail for bringing it to Newberry.
“We have been proud of the Palmetto Trail for years, going from the coast to the mountains. Newberry County has been one of the better parts, we feel — the beautiful bridge at Peak, in the Peak to Prosperity trail, Newberry County residents have been proud of that,” Senn said. “Now you all have brought it to Downtown Newberry, that makes us proud and excited.”
Senn further stated that he believed the addition of Newberry will be an asset for the Palmetto Trail.
“Newberry is a nice pretty town, friendly folks, recently named one of the Travel Channels 50 best towns in America. Love for folks from the Palmetto Trail to make a stop in Newberry,” he said.
Miller also commented on the expedience of adding Newberry to the trail, he said the proposal was made on Jan. 23, and it was approved on Feb. 12.
“I don’t think anything has ever happened that fast before,” he said.
After the ribbon cutting, Senn and Miller led a walk of the downtown portion of the trail, giving everyone who joined in a pin to commemorate the event.
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