Acknowledgement: special thanks to my friend Tom King, aka
the Waterfallwalker,
for recommending this hike to me.
Trail: (unnamed)
Hike Location: Bunched Arrowhead Heritage Preserve
Geographic Location: northeast of Travelers Rest, SC (34.99693, -82.40284)
Length: 1.3 miles
Difficulty: 2/10 (Easy)
Date Hiked: November 2016
Overview: A short loop through interesting prairie and
wetland seep habitats.
Preserve Information: https://www2.dnr.sc.gov/ManagedLands/ManagedLand/ManagedLand/6
Directions to the trailhead: From the US
276/US 25 split in Travelers Rest, take US
25 north 1.9 miles to Tigerville Road ;
there is a traffic light at this intersection.
Turn right on Tigerville Rd. Drive Tigerville Rd.
east 1 mile to Shelton
Road and turn left on Shelton
Rd. Drive narrow
but paved Shelton Rd. north 0.9 miles to McCauley Road
and turn right on McCauley Rd. Drive McCauley Rd.
0.6 miles to the preserve’s parking lot, which is located on the right behind a
chain-link fence; you will see the fence before you see the parking lot or
preserve sign. Park in the fenced-in
lot, making sure you plan to exit before the gate gets locked at sundown.
The hike: If you have done a fair amount of hiking in
South Carolina , then for sure you
are well-acquainted with South Carolina ’s
fine state parks and national forests, but have you ever heard of the state’s
Heritage Preserves? Unbeknownst to many,
the South Carolina Department of Natural Resources owns and operates a system
of 93 Heritage Preserves scattered throughout the state. Typically Heritage Preserves are small tracts
of land whose amenities amount to at most a parking area and a primitive trail
system. Other states (including Ohio ,
where I am from originally) call this type of area a State Nature Preserve. Thus, while Heritage Preserves do not make
ideal destinations for a resort-style vacation or a company picnic, they are
perfect for quiet dayhikes on secluded trails.
This post
features Bunched Arrowhead Heritage Preserve, a 179 acre tract of land located
in the upper reaches of the Enoree River Henderson
and Buncombe in North Carolina
and Greenville and Laurens in South
Carolina . The
bunched arrowhead grows in wetland seeps including the ones found on this
property.
The
preserve has only one official trail, a 1.3 mile loop through the heart of the
preserve, but I found several unofficial trails here as well. The trails are more or less unmarked, so I
recommend taking a picture of the trail map at the information board for
reference during your hike. The route
described here follows the official trail for its entire loop.
 |
| Information board at trailhead |
From the
information board, angle left to pick up the trail as it descends slightly
through tallgrass prairie. The preserve
consists of about one-third prairie and two-thirds mixed deciduous and pine
forest, so the trail persistently goes back and forth between prairie and
forest. A large number of bird houses
hang beside and above the trail.
Where an
unofficial trail exits right, the official trail angles left to enter the
forest for the first time. The next
segment passes beside a wetland area.
This kind of habitat is prime territory for the bunched arrowhead. After curving to the right, you meet the other
end of the unofficial trail, where another left turn is required.
 |
| Re-entering the prairie |
For the
next 0.3 miles the trail heads generally west near the edge of the forest with
the prairie visible through the trees uphill to the right. When I hiked this trail in late fall, numerous
large bean-like seed packets from black locust trees littered the ground. After some minor undulations, you reach the
lowest elevation of this hike where a wooden bridge takes you over a small
stream. A few old green aluminum disks
bearing the universal hiking symbol indicate that this trail used to be marked,
but the markers are too few and far between to be of any help now.
At 0.8
miles, a brief climb brings you to the west end of a small earthen dam. As indicated by a metal marker nailed to a wooden
post, you need to turn right here to continue the official loop. The unofficial trail continuing straight
leads to McCauley Road but
not to the preserve parking lot.
 |
| Hiking across the dam |
The trail
heads east across the dam, which drops off steeply on either side. At the east end of the dam, follow another arrow
that points right; the unofficial trail going straight leads to private
property. The trail treads through
forest around the southern end of the private property to reach the edge of the
prairie just shy of 1 mile into the hike.
Where another unofficial trail exits left, stay straight to remain on
the official trail.
The trail
heads directly across the prairie before dipping again to pass through one last
seepage area, which is crossed via a sequence of short wooden boardwalks. A left curve and gradual climb brings you
within sight of McCauley Road . A final short roadside segment deposits you
at the west end of the parking area, thus completing the hike.
