Lee State Park: Boardwalk and Floodplain Trails (Blog Hike #790)

Trails: Boardwalk and Floodplain Trails

Hike Location: Lee State Park

Geographic Location: east of Bishopville, SC (34.19540, -80.18243)

Length: 2.7 miles

Difficulty: 2/10 (Easy)

Date Hiked: March 2020

Overview: A double loop along wetland areas and past two artesian wells.

Park Information: https://southcarolinaparks.com/lee

Hike Route Map: https://www.mappedometer.com/?maproute=787160

Photo Highlight:

Hike Video: 

Directions to the trailhead: Between Columbia and Florence, take I-20 to Lee State Park Road (exit 123).  Exit and drive Lee State Park Rd. north 1 mile to the signed park entrance on the left.  Turn left to enter the park, then turn left at the first stop sign, following signs for the park office.  Park in the cul de sac in front of the park office.

The hike: Established in 1935 as one of South Carolina’s 16 original Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC)-built state parks, Lee State Park protects 2839 acres of bottomland broadleaf forest on the east bank of the Lynches River.  The park’s centerpieces are its four natural artesian wells, which spew groundwater 24 hours per day 365 days per year.  The CCC built some stone structures to channel the wells’ waters, and two of these structures are passed on this hike.

            Interestingly, this park has a near-twin on the other side of the state: Aiken State Park, which is featured elsewhere in this blog.  Other than Lee’s 12 miles of horse trails, the amenities of the two parks are nearly identical: a cozy 25-site campground, 2 or 3 picnic shelters, and several short hiking trails.  The hike described here takes you past the artesian wells and along the park’s boardwalk, but it also takes you along some of the park’s lesser-used trails, thus providing a good sample of all Lee State Park has to offer.

Start of concrete path near park office

            The easiest trail to find from the parking lot is the boardwalk, so this hike starts with the boardwalk.  A wooden sign that says “boardwalk” points down a concrete path that goes behind the park office.  The concrete path ends at the start of the boardwalk, which immediately heads out over the wetlands along Lynches River.  Water levels were high on my visit, but they had been higher: a sign on the boardwalk’s railing identifies the high water mark after Hurricane Florence passed through here in 2018.

Walking the boardwalk

            At 0.2 miles, you reach a pair of benches and an interpretive sign where the boardwalk deadends.  Turn around and walk back to the beginning of the boardwalk where the Floodplain Trail goes left and right.  The Floodplain Trail is unsigned, but some white aluminum diamonds mark the trail.  This hike will eventually go both directions on the Floodplain Trail, but to get to the artesian wells sooner this description turns right to head southeast on the Floodplain Trail.

            The trail heads around a collection of small ponds on dikes that define the ponds’ borders.  After using an interesting stone bridge to cross the CCC-built spillway of the largest pond, you reach two of the artesian wells.  These wells may seem like man-made fountains, but the water source is natural: stone CCC-built fountains guide the water into the nearby pond.  Some benches allow you to sit and enjoy the flowing water.

Artesian well

            A loop of the horse trail sits to the right (east) of the fountains, but this hike stays on the hiker-only trail as it continues around the pond.  After passing through a group of picnic tables, you arrive back at the parking lot at 0.8 miles to complete the first loop.  To start the second loop, walk back down the same concrete trail you took to reach the boardwalk before, but this time when you reach the boardwalk turn right to begin heading northwest on the Floodplain Trail.

            With the wetland along Lynches River on the left, the sandy dirt trail heads northwest through a forest that features a mixture of oak and loblolly pine trees.  Ignore the Orange Spur, which is marked by red/orange trail markers and forms a short side loop off of the main trail.  At 1.4 miles, you cross the park’s dirt Loop Road and reenter the forest on the other side.

Hiking the floodplain trail

            Now inside the park’s Loop Road, the trail follows a serpentine route with the wetlands occasionally visible to the left.  My approach startled a juvenile cottonmouth snake, which in turn startled me and caused me to take a short detour to give it more room.  Just shy of 2 miles, the trail comes out at the east side of the park’s Loop Road.  Another segment of the Floodplain Trail starts just down the road to the left, but my encounter with the cottonmouth had given me enough adventure for one day.  Thus, I turned right and walked the park road back to the parking lot to complete my hike.