January 16, 2020
A proposed Recreational Trails Program grant would pave the mobility-impaired trail that hooks up to the mobility-impaired ramp on the west side of the Sassafras Mountain Tower in northern Pickens County. (SCDNR photo by Danielle Kent)
The S.C. Department of Natural Resources (SCDNR) is proposing to pave the mobility-impaired trail to the Sassafras Mountain Tower in conjunction with the Recreational Trails Program (RTP), which is administered by the S.C. Department of Parks, Recreation and Tourism. A public meeting on a proposed RTP grant to fund the paving of this trail will be held 10 a.m. Wednesday, Jan. 29 at the Clemson SCDNR office at 311 Natural Resources Drive.
The proposed grant, if successful, would pave the Sassafras Mountain Peak Trail, about a third of a mile, from the parking area near the top of Sassafras Mountain, to the observation platform, or Tower, which opened April 22, 2019. The current surface of the trail is crusher run, and paving the trail would make it easier for mobility-impaired persons to travel to the Sassafras Mountain Tower, which features a mobility-impaired ramp on the west side. The Sassafras Mountain Peak Trail, which was built before the Tower opened, already complies with the American with Disabilities Act (ADA).
Sassafras Mountain, in northern Pickens County, is the highest point in South Carolina at 3,584 feet, and sits on the South Carolina/North Carolina state line.
SCDNR is seeking public input and comments on the proposed grant application to pave the trail. Anyone interested in the trail paving is welcome to attend the public meeting Jan. 29, where Greg Lucas, SCDNR outreach, education and recreation specialist, will make a presentation at 10 a.m.
For more information on the proposed trail grant or the Jan. 29 meeting, call Greg Lucas at (864) 986-6253 or e-mail LucasG@dnr.sc.gov.