Access has been reopened to the trails at Peters Creek Heritage Preserve in Spartanburg County, according to the South Carolina Department of Natural Resources (SCDNR).
The trails had been closed about three weeks ago for a relocation project, which has been completed, according to Austen Attaway, SCDNR Upstate Heritage Preserve coordinator. Additional trail improvements at Peters Creek are ongoing.
Peters Creek Heritage Preserve, 160 acres in Spartanburg County, is off Cannons Campground Road between Spartanburg and Cowpens. This piedmont cove forest, with its rolling topography, an old mill dam, two creeks and 7 miles of walking trails, is a popular destination for area hikers. The preserve is home to the second-largest known population of dwarf-flowered heartleaf, a federally threatened species.
The SCDNR’s Heritage Trust Program was created in 1976, the first such program in the nation, to help stem the tide of habitat loss by protecting critical natural habitats and significant cultural sites. Enabling legislation directed SCDNR to set aside a portion of the state’s rich natural and cultural heritage in a system of heritage preserves to be protected for the benefit of current and future generations.
Nearly 100,000 acres have been protected as Heritage Preserves statewide. For a list of Heritage Preserves in South Carolina, visit the South Carolina Department of Natural Resources website.