During
these beautiful and warm autumn days it’s a little easier to coax the boys out
for a hike! I’m trying not to overschedule, I’ve got a hundred +1 things to do
just like everyone else this time of year – but we can at least head over to
Furman!
Furman
University is just 5 miles north of downtown Greenville! I wrote about the
iconic clock tower and the previous location in the west end of Greenville, but
neglected to mention the 1.5 mile Lake hike. There is no better time than the
present to fix that, especially since the temperatures, fall color and buzz of
students on campus makes for perfect hike with the kids!
The Janie Earle Furman rose garden |
Visitor
parking is conveniently just next to the Barnes & Noble, which is
located in the Trone Student Center. If you’re looking for a place to eat there
are several options in the center, but if you’ve brought your own lunch you can
grab one of the outdoor picnic tables or bring it along to eat at the picnic
shelter at the opposite end of the lake. The trail runs between the Student
Center and 40-acre Swam Lake, and the first place you’ll want to explore is between
Trone and the Daniel Dining Hall: the Janie Earle Furman Rose Garden. The rose
garden is named in honor of the late Janie Earle Furman, a graduate of
Greenville Woman’s College and wife of the late Alester G. Furman, Jr., a
member of the university’s founding family. No matter the season, it’s worth
ducking in to see the fountain and feel the tranquility within.
The Jamie Earle Furman rose garden |
Continuing
on, the trail crosses a bridge over a small canal. If you were to continue
straight instead and look to your right you'll see a gravel path and stairs
gradually leading upward. Another interesting detour, the Place of Peace is an
inter-generational temple (Hei-Sei-Ji)
that once stood in Nagoya, Japan. In 2004 it was dismantled into 2,400 pieces,
transported through the Panama Canal, and reconstructed by Japanese craftsmen
in 2008. We’ve not yet had the chance to see the interior, but the craftsmanship
and serene architectural lines of the temple are a sight in itself.
Place of Peace |
Across
the bridge is the Asia Garden, which together with the Place of Peace are “designed
to stimulate your experience of connection to the earth, and all the peoples of
the world.” A little pond and manicured gardens are contained off a pebble
path, and if you choose to take this route you’ll be back on the trail in only
a few dozen feet.
Asia Garden |
My two
older boys enjoy riding their bikes while I walk with the stroller, and what
makes this hike such a success other than proximity to our home is that the
trails are very safe for beginning bicyclists. There are only a few points that
we have to worry about vehicular traffic, and these are easy to navigate as
there are few cars utilizing these small roads. The first stretch is while
walking along Bell Tower housing to the clock tower, but the speed limit is set
low and there is good visibility. After the tower the trail resumes, and to
your right is another of our favorite stops, the Susan Shi Garden. The David E.
Shi Center for Sustainability/Furman Farm is named for Furman’s 10th
president (and Susan Shi was his First Lady from 1994-2010). The gardens echo
the goal of the Center, which is to support the study and integration of
sustainability-related topics on campus as well as in the greater Greenville
community.
Susan Shi Garden |
Next
you’ll pass the Amphitheatre, after which the trail loops around to continue
following the shoreline of Swan Lake, and there you will find the
afore-mentioned picnic shelter. The environs are more wooded for this second
portion of the hike, the only structures being the Thoreau Cabin and the
Lakeside Rest Room. The Cabin was built by Furman students, a replica of the
cabin Thoreau inhabited while writing Walden, the same distance from the water
as Thoreau’s cabin sat from Walden Pond. This is the home stretch, and I let
the boys ride out far ahead of me knowing that they’ll stop where the trail
meets the road. What’s interesting about this section is that it
runs parallel to the Swamp Rabbit Trail – visible in places, I’m always tempted
to skip over and continue on…
At the
road we cross the spillway to find ourselves at the parking lot and at the end
of our hike. Often we will linger a while outside the student center for a
snack before hopping back in the car for the short ride home. If you’re looking
for a longer hike/run, be sure to check out the Furman website and the trails map; the Lake trail is just one of the several trails on campus, various
combinations of which could make for a lengthier hike.
For a map of the trail click here.
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