Category: South Carolina Private

Lake Conastee Nature Park
“Lake Conestee Nature Park consists of approximately 400 acres of beautiful natural habitat on the Reedy River just 6 miles south of downtown Greenville, South Carolina. The park contains both hardwood and evergreen forest, extensive wetlands,  3 miles of the Reedy River, and a rich diversity of wildlife habitat.”
Here is the Park website.  Map     “The park contains both hardwood and evergreen forest, extensive wetlands,  3 miles of the Reedy River, and a rich diversity of wildlife habitat. Deer, raccoon, beaver, fox, river otter, and various small mammals inhabit the park, along with numerous species of reptiles and amphibians. Over 200 bird species have been reported…”
Breazeale Farm via Swamp Rabbit Trail and TreeFrog Trail Map  options of 1.8 miles or 1.58 miles.  Churchill to Brushy Creek is paved.
Forrester Farm via Raccoon Run & Dragonfly Way. Map options of 0.67, 0.98, and 1.44 miles.
Henderson Farm via Whitetail Trail, Swamp Rabbit Trail, and Spring Lizard Link.  Map options of 1.05 mile and 1.13 mile.

Audubon Center & Sanctuary at Silver Bluff
“Audubon’s Silver Bluff Sanctuary is a 3,400-acre woodland overlooking the Savannah River.  Here you’ll find extensive pine forests and bottomland hardwood forests; 22 miles of horse and walking trails; 50 acres of lakes and ponds; 100 acres of grassland; and all manner of birds and wildlife.”
Here is their website.    Trail map  Phone: 803-471-0291
Thank you to Director Paul Koehler for the following information:
Nuthatch Trail 3/4 mile loop.   “our ¾-mile trail is 8 feet wide and perfectly flat.  At times it has some fallen pine cones and sticks on it, but those are negotiable by nearly everyone.  It has a bench halfway along for a walker to sit and rest.”
Tanager Loop Trail 2 miles “The two-mile trail is similar, but has two 100-foot stretches with a slight elevation change.  It takes about an hour to walk if one walks at a steady pace.  It has several benches along the way.  The length of this trail, of course, would prohibit some people from attempting it. ”
“I have seen a knobby-wheeled motorized wheelchair and baby strollers use both trails.  Access to our visitor center, the restrooms, and water fountain are all ADA compliant.”

Blue Heron Nature Center
“This 10-acre green space boasts the Blue Heron Nature Trail, a quarter-mile recycled rubber trail around a three-acre pond, and a quarter-mile of boardwalk through forested wetlands.”  
Phone 843-726-7611 Here is their website.   Brochure Map   Trail Map
“Located on 10 acres of green space at Exit 21 on I-95 in Ridgeland, the Blue Heron Nature Center offers you a chance to see blue herons, osprey, alligators, and turtles in their natural setting. Come and enjoy the songs of Carolina wrens and cardinals or the chorus of tree frogs.”
? 0.6 miles one way.   There is no mention of ADA on the website or brochure, but all the photos of their paved trail and boardwalk look wheelchair negotiable.  However, you had better call ahead to be sure they will work for you.

Audubon Center & Sanctuary at Frances Beidler Forest
Beidler forest is a “…18,000-acre bird and wildlife sanctuary [that] offers a beauty unsurpassed in the South Carolina Lowcountry.  Beidler is the world’s largest virgin cypress-tupelo swamp forest…”
Here is their website.  Phone: 843-462-2150
The Boardwalk is a “1.75-mile self-guiding boardwalk trail allows visitors the chance to safely venture deep into the heart of the swamp…to experience the peace and serenity that have characterized the area for centuries…to hear the sounds of bird and bug and breeze that have echoed through the trees for ages…to take a relaxing and informative walk back into time…to see a swamp the way nature intended them to be! The boardwalk provides the opportunity to stroll past the 1000-year-old trees and native wildlife that abounds in this pristine sanctuary that has been untouched for millenia. The walk is fully accessible, with rest areas and rain shelters along the way.”