Mountains-to-sea hiking trail to expand near Columbia. Philanthropists finance effort
A major chunk of the mountains-to-the-sea Palmetto Trail is expected to be completed near Columbia this year, making it possible for people to walk or bike the trail from central South Carolina to the coast north of Charleston.
The Darnall W. and Susan F. Boyd Foundation is providing more than $1.5 million to build a new section of trail that will link two previously completed stretches. The new section, which covers 26 miles, will run through eastern Richland County from near the end of Leesburg Road to near the Wateree River at Farmstead Road.
Adding the section of pathway is a big advance in efforts to complete the entire Palmetto Trail, begun in 1994 to provide a route for hikers to walk from the southern Appalachians near Walhalla to the Atlantic Ocean at Awendaw.
So far, the Palmetto Trail covers about 390 miles of the proposed 500-mile length, with the remaining unfinished gaps in the foothills and mountains northwest of Columbia. Efforts are now underway to fill those gaps. Some of the most notable efforts are to add a stretch near Newberry, as well as a 20-mile section in the Appalachians above Greenville.
The entire trail is projected to be completed in the next eight years if funding can be secured, said Palmetto Trail director Mary Roe.
The new trail passage near Columbia will include a section across the top of Cook’s Mountain, which at about 400 feet above sea level is one of the highest land formations in the otherwise flat area of central South Carolina. The new stretch also will pass by U.S. 378 on the Wateree River and through farmland in eastern Richland County, trail officials said. The new section now allows for a continuous trail to the coast from Columbia.
“This grant is a game-changer for us,” Roe said in a news release. “To be able to offer a safe — and breathtakingly beautiful — way for hikers to get from the urban Capital City passage to connect with our Wateree passage is huge. Based on what we’re hearing from trail users, we think the hike to the top of Cooks Mountain will be the most popular stretch of the Trail .”
Work should be done in three phases and completed later this year, trail officials say. Roe said initial work on the new passage already has begun.
Trail officials did not disclose the amount of the grant from the Boyd Foundation, one of the Columbia area’s leading philanthropic organizations. But George Bailey, the foundation’s president, said the amount is in excess of $1.5 million.
“We think this is going to be a great project,’’’ Bailey said. “You had this gap in the trail and funding was needed to complete the gap. We were glad to step in and help out.’’
The Palmetto Conservation Foundation, a non-profit group, is spearheading completion of the Palmetto Trail. The organization has used a combination of private and public grants to pay for construction of the trail.
Trail officials are now compiling how much has been spent so far, as well as tallying the number of visitors who walk the Palmetto Trail. Roe estimated hundreds of thousands of people have hiked the trail since the first section opened nearly 30 years ago.
This story was originally published January 26, 2023 at 12:27 PM.
