From Peak to Prosperity on the Palmetto Trail

The Palmetto Trail is South Carolina’s longest pedestrian & bicycle trail and will measure 500 miles when finished, stretching from Walhalla in the Blue Ridge Mountains to Awendaw on the Intracoastal Waterway. Established in 1994, 350 miles of trail have been completed so far, eleven of which make up the Peak to Prosperity Passage.

Using the railbanking process, Palmetto Conservation purchased an 11 mile, 200” wide right-of-way from Norfolk Southern Railroad. The first 6.5 miles of the passage were opened to the public in 2009 after two volunteers, Charles Weber and Furman Miller, cleared and decked eight trestles. The trail has a total of 20 trestles, mostly crossing back and forth over Crims Creek, which parallels the trail to flow into the Broad just south of the Parr Reservoir.

Alston Trailhead

The east end of the passage is in Alston. Fairfield County donated the funds to develop the small trailhead park that includes the parking area, as well as a canoe launch and picnic tables right on the Broad River. A popular fishing spot, we saw the US Fish & Wildlife Service releasing fingerlings into the river on our recent visit.

From Alston, the trail crosses the Broad River on a former trestle, thanks to SC Parks, Recreation & Tourism who funded the conversion. The 1,100-foot-long bridge is a wonderful vantage point for glimpsing bald eagles, and turtles can usually be spotted sunning on the banks below. The trestle is also a popular location for photography and birdwatching. This first ½ mile section of trail is an official Kids in Parks TrackTrail (opened in June, 2020), you can find the brochures here.

Once across the bridge, the trail enters Newberry County and skirts Peak, SC. Established in the early 1850s to house workers building the Greenville and Columbia Railroad, it was named for railroad superintendent, H.T. Peak. The town incorporated in 1880, witnessed Federal troops destroying the tracks in 1865, and survived multiple fires, the most recent in 1978.

An access trail into Peak

The area between the Saluda River and the Broad River that the trail traverses west of Peak is known as the Dutch Fork, named for the Pennsylvania Dutch that settled the area between 1730 and 1766 when the SC government offered incentives for foreign Protestants to settle the backcountry.

Make sure to climb the stairs down to Crims Creek at Nathan's Trestle (#6). The rock structure that can be seen there is the original trestle buttress built in 1848 as part of the Greenville to Columbia Railroad. The trestle was burned in 1865 by the Union cavalry while withdrawing from the Confederate forces of Palmer's brigade, who were advancing from Newberry. 

Nathans Trestle 

At milepost 6.5 the trail passes by Pomaria. Originally named Countsville, there was a post office as early as 1823. In 1840 it was renamed Pomaria for William Summer’s nearby Pomaria Nursery; the root of the town’s name – pomology – is the study of fruit cultivation, which was a specialty of Summer. The Columbia and Newberry Railroad line came through in 1851, and the town was incorporated in 1903.

After crossing under Interstate 26, the trail soon arrives at Kibler Bridge Trailhead, the current western-most parking area for the passage (the trail continues another 1.25 miles west to just north of Eptings Pond). I recommend leaving a car at the Alston trailhead and then driving to Kibler Bridge if you plan on hiking/biking the trail one way; when traveling the trail east, you are descending around 225 feet in elevation to the Broad River over the 10 miles, and the Broad River Bridge makes a great finale to the adventure.

Turn-off for parking area on Kibler Bridge Road

Additional amenities include a campground between trestles 11 and 12 (at around mile marker 5.25), water and supplies at the Pomaria trailhead, and parking areas in Pomaria, Hope Station and Kibler’s Bridge. There are stairs at several of the trestles that lead down to picnic areas, and educational signage detailing the history and nature of the area along the way.

You can find the Palmetto Trail Peak to Prosperity Passage page here. 

Download the map here. 

The rail trail features a dozen small, round signs with QR codes you can scan into your phone or tablet to learn about the history, culture and natural resources of the area. Read more here. 

Finally, Tom at Random Connections has a great write-up here.