From the historic city center of Spartanburg to the picturesque mountains of South Carolina, the state offers a plethora of bike-friendly lakes and trails for outdoor enthusiasts to explore. The Mary Black Foundation Rail Trail is a 1.9-mile urban multi-purpose rail trail that runs through restaurants, shops, and recreational facilities. The Three Rivers Greenway in Columbia is nearly 10 miles long and is still growing, offering exceptional views of the downtown skyline. The Waccamaw Neck Bikeway is 16 miles long and runs through the historic Waccamaw Neck peninsula, while the Spanish Moss Trail covers 16 kilometers through historic points of interest from Beaufort to Port Royal.
South Carolina has 12 major lakes that are perfect for indoor water sports. Lake Murray is one of them, where you can sail, boat, water ski, and fish for striped bass, big-mouthed bass, bream, and crab. With approximately 800 kilometers of coastline, the activities are almost endless. Four cities in South Carolina (Greenville, Spartanburg, Columbia, and Charleston) have won the bronze award for providing safe accommodations for biking and encouraging cycling as a means of transportation and recreation. If you're looking for a more adventurous experience, South Carolina has plenty of mountainous single-track trails to explore.
The Chattooga River is a great spot for whitewater rafting with class IV and V rapids. The University of South Carolina has also earned the right to brag about biking when it joined a group of elite campuses across the country to rank as a bicycle-friendly university. The 10-mile Spanish Moss Trail follows the remains of a Port Royal rail line and takes trail users through the beautiful rural landscape that eastern South Carolina is known for. Whether you're looking for a quiet forest or a coastal beach, a bustling city or more rural environments, South Carolina has something for everyone.
