Lowcountry mountain bikers flock to the Wannamaker North Trail

Flickr user Alice Teoh

The Charleston County Park and Recreation Commission was proud to recently open a biking and hiking trail that runs near the agency’s North Charleston Wannamaker County Park. Named the Wannamaker North Trail, the 8-mile trail officially opened to the public on May 1, 2012.

With the trail head located near 455 Westview Blvd., off of Highway 52 in Goose Creek, the Wannamaker North Trail is designed for and open to mountain bicyclists of all experience levels. The single-track trail offers multiple options for shorter or easier routes.

Designer Brad Phillips, of Lowcountry Fat Tire Freaks, and other volunteers donated over 600 hours of work on the trail. Located near Crowfield Plantation, this previously undeveloped land tract was purchased by CCPRC as part of the same property that now makes up Wannamaker County Park. Bare soil trails were created by clearing out roots and reshaping existing dirt mounds, while keeping most of the tract’s large-diameter trees intact. The trail intentionally routes by several beautiful, large-diameter live oaks and American beeches. More experienced bicyclists will travel on the northeast section of the trail, which follows along and over-top of an elevated ridge. Mile markers and color indicators will soon be included on the Wannamaker North Trail, and eventually, benches and other amenities may be added as well.

The Wannamaker North Trail is open to the public. CCPRC encourages users of the trail to bring their own water to the facility, and to observe the “Pack It In, Pack It Out” rule. Parking is available on site near the trail, and public restrooms are available at Wannamaker County Park. Admission to the Wannamaker North Trail is $1 per person for a full day’s use. Access to the trail will be included with CCPRC’s Individual and Gold Pass memberships.

Charleston City Paper has a feature on the trail and designer Brad Phillips, read that here.


Note: You maybe wondering why we occasionally post info about other cities on our "hyper-local" website. Well we know that our folks like to travel, so we post interesting information that maybe useful to readers. In particular we know that local mountain bikers will travel great distances to seek and ride new trails. This story is worth noting because of that. 

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