End to End

From Point A to Point B, Go readers get an idea of what to expect on the newly completed 14-mile section of trail.

Written by John Boyanoski

There is nothing fancy about the starting and ending points of the Greenville Hospital System Swamp Rabbit Tram Trail.

No signs. No pronouncements. No markers. Just the end of some pavement in front of a cemetery in Travelers Rest on the northern end and the same just before a bridge crossing the Reedy River on Cleveland Street in the City of Greenville.

But in between is a trail that the Upstate's active population have dreamt about for decades, and is the 14-mile spine for a series of trails that will finger out into the surrounding community.
When Go ran the entire trail, more people were on it than expected for a late but scorching hot Friday afternoon. And not just the average running and cycling enthusiast. People riding old Huffys that likely hadn't seen the light of day in years. Walkers getting on as the trail winds through neighborhoods in Travelers Rest, Berea, Sans Souci and Woodside.

Ty Houck, director of greenways for the County Recreation District, said a study will be done later this summer to measure the impact, but he has gotten e-mail reports of as many as 100 people traversing the blacktop trail.

The trail starts with an uphill climb along black asphalt with a series of yellow lines down the middle. It turns right onto Faris Avenue and then left along the river.

This is where the half-rubberized trail starts and winds for roughly a mile past the Caine Halter YMCA on the left and the Nicholtown community on the right before hitting Cleveland Park. The two miles of park trail is in the process of being switched from classic concrete to partial rubberized as well as being widened. The $1 million project includes revamping the trail as it crosses McDaniel Avenue, and should be completed this fall.

After McDaniel, the trail cuts below the Reedy River Falls and follows the river underneath Main Street to Linky Stone Park, the children’s park underneath the Academy Street bridge. A water fountain is here, and is the last stop for refreshment for several miles. The trail pushes to the city limits where the rubberized trails ends with a quaint wood bridge that takes users over the river and then onto a strictly concrete path.

The intersection of Bramlett comes next, but it may be blocked by an orange-and-white barricade. Some people have been playing chicken with the 100-ton freight cars here as opposed to waiting for them to pass, which prompted Houck and the county to close that section of the trail temporarily. He could not say when it may reopen. From there, the trail rolls under ultra busy Cedar Lane Road and over some of the newly constructed bridges.

The bridges are made of Corten steel, which gives it somewhat of an already aged/rusted look, protects the metal and is low maintenance, Houck said.

The following few miles can best be described as the nature section as towering pines, rock faces and the dribbling sounds of the Reedy make it seem like civilization is miles and miles away - expect when it crosses the vehicle laden intersections of course. This section features all kinds of red, orange and blue fauna as kudzu vines creeps nefariously close to the trail.

The next major location is the bucolic, 350-acre Furman University campus. There are at least five entry points onto the campus from the trail including one that dovetails nicely into the school’s own off-road trail system. 

Tempting as it is to get lost in the nature trail at Furman, runners and cyclists will want to push on. There are several quasi-courtyard areas near the Woodlands at Furman - a retirement community that connects to the trail directly with its own walking path.

Next comes a short stretch of crushed gravel through an old industrial site featuring some interesting graffiti. Long black fences after this section serve as a reminder to stay on trail, and there is a gas/convenience store just before Travelers Rest where someone can stop for a refill on water and supplies.

The trail then stretches into downtown  Travelers Rest - going parallel with Main Street and then behind a driving range where people can rent bikes and then to the Café @ Williams Hardware - where it is now common to see bikes parked outside - and finally onto that final destination at the cemetery.