Biking the Spanish Moss Trail, Beaufort SC

 

• Date Biked: October 16, 2020 (with some pics from our 2019 ride)
• Posted Mileage: 13.6
• Total miles Tracked:  19.84
• Type of Trail:  Rail Trail
• Conveniences: There's only parking at the trail heads, but the trail is adjacent to numerous businesses.
• Best Features: Great signage, great scenery, and a smooth, wide, flat surface that's perfect for bikes.
• Worst Features:  Busy road crossings, traffic noise, jet noise
• Wildlife spotted: Herons, egrets, storks, ibises
• Vegetation:  Live oaks, pines, wildflowers
• Associated Website: http://www.spanishmosstrail.com/
• Primary Author: James

Beaufort, South Carolina is a port town brimming with history. If you're into touring quaint downtowns full of shops and restaurants, and street after street arched by live oaks draped with Spanish Moss, it's a great destination. But, Cheryl and I don't generally get drawn to quaint small towns for the shopping and dining. What we care about is whether or not there's a greenway. And, yes! Beaufort is home to the Spanish Moss Trail, a relatively new rail trail started in 2012, with 13.6 miles complete and more on the way. 

The Spanish Moss Trail follows the path of the former Port Royal Railroad. Like many rail trails, it shows its industrial past in the form of old factories and warehouses adjacent to the trail. You won't see much of the most touristy historic parts of town. However, one cool bit of history that's been preserved is the old depot. A lot of rail trails feature restored depots, but the Spanish Moss Trail is the only one I can think of that you can actually bike through as part of the journey. 

It's really tempting to make train noises as you roll through. Choo choo!

If you start at the depot, which ever direction you choose to bike you'll soon find yourself passing along bays and wetlands teeming with herons, egrets, storks, and ibises. These wetlands are the best reason to make the journey to ride this trail. It's a wonderful interface of land, water, and sky to bike along these vistas. 

We initially were biking toward the Port Royal end of the trail, but after about a mile and a half the trail was closed for bridge construction. We turned back and headed up the trail toward Merritt Field, the Marine Corps Airfield. Once you get within a mile or so of the field, you may encounter what's either one of the best parts of the ride or the worst, depending on your point of view. Jets are taking off from the field several times an hour, and the noise of them roaring into the sky right above the greenway can be bone-shaking. On the other hand, watching a fighter jet zoom past directly overhead is kind of thrilling. 

Peace, tranquility, and the deafening thunder of America's defenders!

Another feature of the north end of the trail is a string of words I never expected to type: A lovely convenience store parking lot. But, this section of the trail follows Highway 21 very closely, and Parker's Kitchen has an entrance both on the highway and on the trail. They've got picnic tables beneath towering live oaks. It's really a pretty good place to stop and grab a bite and take advantage of clean restrooms. But, it's not your only choice along the route if you want to take a meal break. When you cross Robert Smalls Parkway, a very short detour onto a road will take you to a bikeable sidewalk trail heading through the business district on Highway 21. You'll have your choice of restaurants here, and, despite being right next to a busy highway, its got its own touches of wetland scenery along the short route. 

Not many gas stations boast this level of scenery. 

Since this trail is newer than a lot of the trails we ride, the designers seem to have learned from other greenways and incorporated some great features. The trail surface is wide and still feels new, free of the potholes and buckling you find on older trails. It's got great signage and mileposts. Oddly, this is the only trail we've ridden that tells you your elevation on each post. That seems like it would be really great on a trail with a significant elevation change, like the Virginia Creeper. But the Spanish Moss Trail elevation never even reaches fifty feet above sea level. If you own a one speed bike, this is the perfect trail to ride it. If there's a negative feature of the trail, aside from the jet plane noise, it would be that it crosses a few heavily trafficked roads, and not all the traffic seemed to understand the concept of stopping before the crosswalk rather than on them. However, on the smaller roads the trail crosses, the oncoming cars never failed to stop to let bikers and walkers cross. 

Elevation: Pancake

We've biked this trail twice, and will almost certainly be back. Beaufort seems aware that they've got a great little gem of a trail and have done a lot to make it welcoming to visitors. If you go, bring a good camera! You'll want something better than a phone to zoom in on all the great things you'll see along the way.