Biking Fripp Island and Hunting Island State Park, SC

 

• Dates Biked: October 15 and 18, 2020
• Total miles tracked:  Hunting Island:  14 miles (includes from our rental on Fripp and back), Fripp Island:  11.2 miles.  Beach ride on Fripp:  10 miles.  
• Best Features: Biking with friends and beach rides! 
• Worst Features:  Mosquitoes  
• Wildlife spotted: Egrets, herons
• Vegetation: Maritime forests, marshes
• Associated Websites:  pledgethepink.com; https://southcarolinaparks.com/hunting-island; https://frippislandresort.com
• Primary Author: Cheryl

For the last several years, I have been participating in a 3-day walk for Breast Cancer called Pledge the Pink, held in the low country of South Carolina.  This year, it was going to be located with Fripp Island as the home base, with walks on Hunting Island State Park and the Habersham community in Beaufort County.  Alas - Covid.  The walk itself became a virtual event this year, but James and I and our friends Hope and Danny decided to keep our reservations at our house on Fripp Island.  We participated in the virtual event, but chose to get our daily miles on our bikes instead.  We have two other posts for our biking on the Spanish Moss Trail in Beaufort and Pinckney Island Wildlife Refuge in Hilton Head, but we had other great biking on Fripp Island, including their wide beaches and the neighboring Hunting Island State Park, so we felt we needed to share the rides with our readers.  

Hunting Island State Park is just magical.  In addition to the miles of beach that are part of the park, there are 3 main trails that run parallel through the park, and some shorter loop and connector trails, along with the paved roads that wind through the park. Most trails are sandy, so if you're biking, you'll need some wider tires.  There are also roots, fallen limbs and pine cones.

The Lagoon Trail

Leaving the Nature Center parking lot

And did I mention the mosquitoes?  Oh my!  We were there in October and they were the size of pterodactyls!  We had bug spay, but they were biting trough our shirts.  We quickly detoured over to their boneyard beach.  We left out bikes near the footbridge that crosses the lagoon and wandered among the driftwood.   

If you've never experienced a boneyard beach, Hunting Island State Park provides the easiest opportunity to do so.  It's not even a mile from the parking lot at the nature center.  Other such boneyards require ferry rides or several miles of trekking to get there.  And just what is a boneyard beach?  It's where a maritime forest is being reclaimed by the ocean.  

Footbridge to the boneyard as seen from the beach

After wandering around this section of the beach for a while, we hopped back on our bikes and rode up to the lighthouse.  The four of us had climbed the 167 steps of the lighthouse 2 years prior.  With Covid, they were limiting the people climbing the day we here here this year.  If you get a chance to do it, the view is spectacular.  

Hunting Island Lighthouse

We left the main grounds of the state park and headed back down the stretch of HWY 21 back to Fripp Island.  We took a quick detour on the Marsh boardwalk trail.  We were hoping to see some birds, but just saw a bunch of crabs instead.  

We rode our bikes the next two days on the Spanish Moss Trail in Beaufort and Pinckney Island Wildlife Preserve in Hilton Head.  The link will take you to our Spanish Moss review, and Pinkney is coming up soon!

Our last full day at Fripp for Pledge the Pink, we decided to just ride our bikes around the island.  It was high tide and many of the roads on the island were covered in overwash.  That didn't stop us from having some fun.  

SPLASH!

If you can still see the tops of grass, it's shallow enough to ride through!

After lunch, James and I took our bikes over to the beach and rode the entire length of Fripp Island and back.  We love riding on the beach, and the wide stretches of sand during the low tide did not disappoint.  

The pics might make it look like we had the beach all to ourselves. Not true! There were also a crazy number of birds. Here's a video of us riding through one of the flocks:

Next year, our Pledge the Pink walk will be based in Hilton Head.  We look forward to gathering together and walking our 10 miles a day for Breast Cancer.  You can bet we'll be hauling our bikes down and looking for more beaches to pedal.

Survivors sporting some FANCY socks!

Biking the Thermal Belt Rail Trail: Rutherfordton, Spindale and Forest City, NC

 

• Date Biked: October 24, 2020
• Posted Mileage 13.5
• Total miles Tracked:  28.17
• Type of Trail:  Paved rail-trial
• Conveniences:  Nice trailheads, good signs, some bathrooms
• Best Features:  Thoughtful design, great surface, access to downtowns
• Worst Features:  A few busy road crossings
• Wildlife spotted: Deer 
• Vegetation:  Hardwoods, pines, wildflowers
• Associated Website:  https://www.thermalbeltrailtrail.com/
• Primary Author: James

The Thermal Belt Rail Trail is currently the second longest continuous rail trail in North Carolina after the American Tobacco Trail. The Neuse River Trail is longer than either, but it's along a river bank, not a rail bed. At just over 13.5 miles long, the Thermal Belt makes for a nice day of biking from end to end and back. We've ridden it three times in the last few years and have seen the progress as they've extended into new sections. Now that it's finished, it's a trail we can highly recommend. 

Flat, straight, wide, and paved. The miles fly by!

A lot of trails we ride take us to the sort of places that get described as the middle of nowhere. The Thermal Belt is a nice change from this. While it does pass through rural areas, a big chunk of the ride will take you through the middles of somewheres. The Thermal Belt Rail Road was once an economic lifeline for several small towns, and the trail cuts through (or near) the centers of towns like Forest City, Spindale, and Ruth. This gives you easy access to restaurants and bars and breweries along the way. Cheryl and I consider it a nearly perfect day if we can spend all day biking before unwinding at a trailside restaurant. The Thermal Belt offers numerous opportunities for food and beer, enough to tempt us back several times to try out the places we haven't yet explored. 

Forest City

Spindale

The two larger towns the trail cuts through are Forest City and Spindale. Forest City has a fitness park along the trail with bathrooms and water fountains. The trail runs adjacent to an amphitheater and farmers market, and if you go off trail for a block or two you'll find yourself downtown which is full of shops, restaurants, and bars. A little off the main drag is Scoop, an ice cream shop in what looks to be a 1950s drive in. If you've ridden the full length of the trail and back, treat yourself to their specialty, a milkshake with a scoop of ice cream on top of it. 

When you go to the window, ask if they serve ice cream. They'll appreciate that.

Spindale had a new brewery under construction next to the track, so we're looking forward to trying it out on our next trip. Spindale also has a more industrial feel, as you pass by old warehouses and a still operational flour mill. Spindale also had a bike shop with rentals, the only one we noticed along the trail. All along the route, you pass a lot of churches and AM radio stations. In all, it's easy to feel like you are riding through a different era. 

Sometimes the churches and AM radio stations sort of blend together. 

Speaking of different eras, near the far western end of the trail you'll find the Bechtler Mint Site Historic Park, a former gold mine. There's not a lot to see there, but there's some info on NC's past as a gold producing state, and the park also has great views of the mountains rising in the distance. 

People used to crawl in and out of this hole lugging sacks of dirt that might contain a fleck or two of gold. No matter what job you do, it's got to beat that!

The ride itself is fantastic. This is a very flat trail. There are a few mild grades, but much of the ride is effortless, and since it's a fairly new trail the surface is flawless. The trail  heads have plenty of parking and excellent signage. There's a lighted bridge in Forest City, and many of the road crossings are painted with a leaf design. If there's one gripe, it's that some of the crossings have a lot of traffic, and one or two of the crossings don't have good lines of sight for you to watch for oncoming traffic until you are practically in the intersection. That said, when we did encounter traffic at the crossings, the cars stopped for us. This feels like a trail that the local communities treasure, which is a huge plus for us. 

The lighted bridge comes with bonus lighted spiders!

If this trail were closer to our house, we'd probably ride it every month. Alas, it's almost a three hour drive. But, if  you like a good greenway ride, it's well worth the trip! 

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.