Not so long ago, bike and pedestrian trails were regarded as nice to have but not a community necessity.
That’s no longer the case. The transformative example of the Prisma Health Swamp Rabbit Trail Network in Greenville County has demonstrated both the public demand for such trails and the economic impact that demand has on surrounding communities.
Taking note of those factors, active-living groups and economic development professionals in Spartanburg are working together to emulate the Swamp Rabbit Trail model and create an interconnected web of trails that will eventually extend regionally into North Carolina and beyond.
The vision could eventually lead to a network of multiuse trails connecting Greenville and Spartanburg counties.
Community essential
At the most basic level, trails and greenways are good for community health as they afford residents opportunities to get outside, according to Laura Ringo, executive director of Spartanburg’s PAL: Play, Advocate, Live Well.
PAL is spearheading development of the Daniel Morgan Trail system centered on the city of Spartanburg. It is incomplete but the impact has already been substantial. An economic study of the trail prepared by Clemson University showed the $9.9 million spent so far on construction of the trail created $15.1 million in direct economic output.
But the more transformative impact is driven by trail use, Ringo said. Climbing from 310,000 annual trail uses in 2019, the Daniel Morgan Trail has reached more than 688,000 trail uses so far this year.
It has not gone unnoticed by real estate developers. Ringo said PAL has met with about 50 developers in the past two years interested in having their projects connect to the growing trail system.
It’s the kind of momentum demonstrated by the Swamp Rabbit Trail, which has seen residential and commercial development drawn to properties with quick access to the trail since it officially opened in 2009.
The trail currently runs continuously from Travelers Rest to Greenville, with additional spurs in Greenville itself, and includes about 28 miles of multiuse paths. Work continues to extend the connected trail further south, such as in Mauldin where portions of an existing trail have been connected to a pedestrian bridge over Interstate 385.
Regional reach
The Daniel Morgan Trail isn’t only piece of the trail momentum in Spartanburg County.
PAL is part of a consortium of organizations spearheading development of the Saluda Grade Trail along a 31-mile section of abandoned rail line in northern Spartanburg County that leads into Polk and Henderson counties in North Carolina. The purchase of the land for the trail is under contract.
With the example of how the Swamp Rabbit Trail helped drive the transformation of Travelers Rest in northern Greenville County, the small communities along the Saluda Grade Trail – Inman, Gramling, Campobello, Landrum – expect a similar economic boom.
Though it’s still only on the drawing board, the Saluda Grade Trail has already exerted a bit of trail magic, according to Katherine O’Neill, OneSpartanburg’s chief economic development officer.
When Time Bicycles was looking for a place for its headquarters and North American manufacturing operations in early 2023, the abundance of advanced manufacturers in Spartanburg County made the area a shortlisted contender. But what settled the company on the Landrum facility it now calls home was the 30-acre property’s significant frontage along the future Saluda Grade Trail.
O’Neill said it shows the symbiotic potential between trails and economic development.
A grand, connected vision
With such examples showing what trails can accomplish, Ringo said her group is working with others to create a web of interconnected trails that could eventually form an arc connecting The Daniel Morgan Trail network in Spartanburg to the Swamp Rabbit Trail network in Greenville County.
The potential is there to connect Croft State Park southeast of Spartanburg by expanding the Daniel Morgan Trail through the city to USC Upstate, then tying in to the Saluda Grade Trail. From that trail’s end point in Zirconia in North Carolina, it’s only six miles to the Ecusta Trail, a 19.4-mile trail connecting Hendersonville and Brevard. From there, a connection would have to be made to the Swamp Rabbit Trail.
Similar grand trail visions that inspired the founding of Greenville-based Upstate Greenways and Trails Alliance. According to UGATA Executive Director Matthew Hudson-Flege, the ultimate goal is to establish a trail network throughout the 10 counties of the Upstate.
“You see widespread calls for more of this, whether it’s somebody saying, ‘how do I get the Swamp Rabbit Trail in my neighborhood,’ to elected officials pushing for these things to business leaders saying we want more of this,” he said.
Ringo said such a connected network is likely years away, but the demonstrable economic and community health benefits are grounds for optimism.
Daniel Morgan Trail fast facts:
- 55-plus miles of trails in Spartanburg
- 15 trail segments and 22 connected miles
- 16 community partners
- $37 million in secured funding
- More than 688,000 trail uses so far in 2024, up from about 319,000 uses in 2019
Saluda Grade Trail fast facts:
- Still in the planning stages
- Includes 31 miles along historic Saluda Grade rail corridor, which is no longer in use
- Would connect communities of Inman, Gramling, Campobello and Landrum in South Carolina to Tryon, Saluda and Zirconia in North Carolina
- Could eventually link Spartanburg’s Daniel Morgan Trail system to the Ecusta Trail in North Carolina
Swamp Rabbit Trail fast facts:
- 28-plus mile bike and pedestrian trail opened in 2009
- Connects Travelers Rest to Greenville and includes multiple spurs
- Future plans to expand south to Mauldin, Simpsonville and Fountain Inn
