palmetto trail

[juma]

Just finished a few days on the palmetto trail in south carolina. I started on Hwy 17 near the coast and hiked across the francis marion national swamp and around lake moultrie on the dike. The trail is wide, flat, nicely groomed and marked every mile thru the francis marion. Mud boards were available where they were needed. water was plentiful but finding moving water sometimes took a few miles between flowing creeks. Most of it was deeply brown/yellowish but tastes ok. These are the best maps: http://www.palmettotrail.org/maps.asp.

Other notes:

the halfway creek campsite is nice but the pump does not work. you could get water a bit further down the trail.

the harlstone dam campsite did have a little flowing water on the left about 100 feet south of the campsite.

the witherbee ranger station had one picnic table behind the office building. water was available from the faucet on the back of the vacant residence about 200 yds away. I did charge cell phone on the outlet at the back of the office building.

alligator creek campsite was flat and tree covered. no water immediately near.

the canal rec area campsite was good. the tent site is actually up the trail to the right when you come into the clearing and more away from the road traffic noise. there was a working water faucet near the 2 old wrecked toilets in the rec area picnic grounds. also picnic tables there.

the first few miles of the dike walk is sort of hard surface. it ends near the main road in town. walking down the road 200 yds and a good cafe is on the right. had many choices for fried baloney! after you finish walking through town the dike resumes and is softer. when you get to the railroad bridge, the only way is over the bridge so try to do it when no train is around plenty of room on the left to walk but who wants to cross alongside a rolling train. From there is more dike over to the next much shorter bridge where you head back into the woods.

we stayed at the campsite at the 23 mile point on the map. It was quiet and had a working fresh water pump.

the next day we hit a long road walk and got tired of it quick and hitched up to santee and the motel 8.

I think the trail is mainly for bike riders. we saw some campers but no other hikers. we did see a few groups of bikers. Its probably best for them.

[WingedMonkey]

It's been more than a few years since I was on that trail (bike and hike). Looking at the link you gave I saw this posted,

Primitive camping is allowed with a free visitor use permit from USFS

Did you get this permit? Where from?

[WingedMonkey]

IThe section I was talking about is what they now call Enoree Passage. After a re-read, I see you were in a different section, maybe different rules.

[juma]

It's been more than a few years since I was on that trail (bike and hike). Looking at the link you gave I saw this posted,

Did you get this permit? Where from?

yeah, I never got any permit or heard of one. I think the word was use the established camp sites which I did. but, you could easily camp on the trail or beside it practically everywhere. there is hardly anyone out there. thought once about camping on the dike but it was so windy, we decided to get back into the woods.

[10-K]

How many contigious miles of trail did you hike? How many miles of trail is actually available without having to do a roadwalk to get to the next section?

[Sara]

the halfway creek campsite is nice but the pump does not work. you could get water a bit further down the trail.

I was there about four months ago and the pump worked fine.. weird!
I remember walking fast on the trail due to the cloud of mosquitos following me.

Oh and the gunshot sounds from nearby shooting range was annoying.

[juma]

How many contigious miles of trail did you hike? How many miles of trail is actually available without having to do a roadwalk to get to the next section?

Roughly 80 if you start at the east most point.

We hiked about 76. started about 7 miles in at rt 17 and ended about 6 miles further on of road walk. there were some small bits of road to walk throughout the first 70 miles of trail.

you can see the roadwalk on the maps.

[juma]

I was there about four months ago and the pump worked fine.. weird!
I remember walking fast on the trail due to the cloud of mosquitos following me.

Oh and the gunshot sounds from nearby shooting range was annoying.

Feb/mar is the no bug, no hunt time.

[Cookerhiker]

FYI TABA is writing a guidebook for the Palmetto Trail. Assuming it's like his guides for other trails, it will list detailed points with mileage and also include services from trail towns and road crossings.

[PalmettoConservation]

FYI TABA is writing a guidebook for the Palmetto Trail. Assuming it's like his guides for other trails, it will list detailed points with mileage and also include services from trail towns and road crossings.

Hi everyone,

I work for Palmetto Conservation Foundation, the organization that builds and maintains the Palmetto Trail. Just wanted to let you know that we do have a Lowcountry Guide available for anyone interested in detailed mileage information, outfitters, places to eat, stay, camp, etc. along the 162 continuous miles of trail from Awendaw to Wateree. It's one of our best-selling publications. Here's a link in case you're interested: http://www.palmettoconservation.org/...trailguide.asp

Feel free to contact us at the office at (803) 771-0870 or via email at [email protected] if you ever have any questions or concerns on the trail. We're always looking for feedback from hikers and cyclists. Happy trails!

[importman77]

Juma, my wife and I have done most of the Lake Moultrie passage on mountain bikes. It's really better that way, I think. A lot of other passages of the Palmetto are better hiked. I take it you didn't take the side trail to the Sandy Beach campground. You missed a treat if you didn't. It's a little out of the way but once you get to it there's a small beach (that's sandy), and a shady area for tent camping. We didn't camp but we had a real nice picnic and a couple hours of rest watching the waves and the boats. Really peaceful. On the way back out we saw the most monstrous alligator I've ever seen. He was
across the canal sunning himself. Here's a picture of Sandy Beach and "The Gator". Unfortunately, they don't do them justice, particularly the alligator picture. To try to put it into perspective, I showed that picture to a local fisherman we saw and he estimated it at 16 to 18 ft long. And honestly I think he was pretty close to right. I'd wager that an average man couldn't reach around him at the fattest point and touch his hands.
2013 Family Pics 156.jpg 2013 Family Pics 172.jpg

[The Solemates]

wow - thats a pretty stellar gater! ive done quit a bit of hiking in SC and never seen one that size!

[importman77]

wow - thats a pretty stellar gater! ive done quit a bit of hiking in SC and never seen one that size!

Trust me, he's actually bigger than the picture appears. We couldn't believe it when we saw it. This was one time I was REAL glad to be on a bike instead of in a kayak.

[juma]

Juma, my wife and I have done most of the Lake Moultrie passage on mountain bikes. It's really better that way, I think. A lot of other passages of the Palmetto are better hiked. I take it you didn't take the side trail to the Sandy Beach campground. You missed a treat if you didn't. It's a little out of the way but once you get to it there's a small beach (that's sandy), and a shady area for tent camping. We didn't camp but we had a real nice picnic and a couple hours of rest watching the waves and the boats. Really peaceful. On the way back out we saw the most monstrous alligator I've ever seen. He was
across the canal sunning himself. Here's a picture of Sandy Beach and "The Gator". Unfortunately, they don't do them justice, particularly the alligator picture. To try to put it into perspective, I showed that picture to a local fisherman we saw and he estimated it at 16 to 18 ft long. And honestly I think he was pretty close to right. I'd wager that an average man couldn't reach around him at the fattest point and touch his hands.
2013 Family Pics 156.jpg 2013 Family Pics 172.jpg

yeah, I didn't mind the walk after that first 5 miles before ya get to the little town - that was a road walk. what do you guys do at the canal - walk the train bridge too? Everytime I hike with Fredmugs, seems like it turns into a dawn to dusk ramble where we don't look at much other than the 4 feet in front of us. Fredmugs had a new toe growing out of the bottom of his foot but still pushed for 20+ days. did get a lot of pics of turtles on the logs. Agree bike is better, probably for most of it. But we was cooped up all winter and needed to hike!

[Taba]

FYI TABA is writing a guidebook for the Palmetto Trail. Assuming it's like his guides for other trails, it will list detailed points with mileage and also include services from trail towns and road crossings.

It's awesome to see that the Palmetto Trail is being talked about here on Whiteblaze. Last year from November 6th, 2012 to January 8th, 2013 I thru-hiked the Palmetto Trail with the intentions of connecting the finished segments with public roads. While doing this I documented every step of the way and then spent the last 3 months compiling all the information into a 96 page book for the trail. It is another Thru-Hiker's Manual listing every resource a hiker needs whether in the woods or in town. Each Thru-hiker's Manual is designed the same way for easy and fast planning and navigation. The Palmetto Trail is an absolutely wonderful experience that I personally can't wait to hike again. If you are interested in having fun on the Palmetto Trail check out http://thruhikersmanual.com

I will also be presenting the Palmetto Trail at Trail Days in Damascus this May. If you are attending Trail Days I encourage you to come out to this presentation to learn even more about this journey.

Taba