Turn of the Wheel…Kinda
So, this past weekend, I went back to Oconee State Park, in South Carolina. The Old Waterwheel Trail leads to the remains of a waterwheel used to pump water.
This time, I went for the Old Waterwheel Trail, named for the spot where there used to be an old waterwheel that pumped water. The wheel is no longer there, having been moved elsewhere, but the remnants of the stone structure still remain.
Oconee State Park, as I ‘ve discussed before, is north of Walhalla. Taking Hwy. 28, and then taking Hwy. 107 when it forks, the park entrance will be on your right. Now, in my post on Hiking in the Heat along the Oconee Trail, I mentioned that I had been looking for the Foothills trail, and ended up on a different trail, because the signage was not the best in the world. This was true in this case, as well. It was practically a process of elimination to find the road that led to the parking area for the Foothills Trail, which was doubly frustrating because I had just been on that road a couple of weeks before from the opposite direction on foot. From this direction, however, it is the road that has the least signage, it seems, that leads to the Foothills Trail, and the trailhead for the Old Waterwheel Trail. If you’re going to Oconee State Park, I recommend a map. Do not rely upon their signage. Anyway, the road leads to a little parking area just beyond the entrance to the park’s section of the Foothills trail.
I opted to take this 1.6 mile loop trail counter-clockwise. As is my usual wont, I just took the first entrance to the trail I found, and this happened to be the entrance that led counter-clockwise, just down the road from the parking lot.. This happened to be the end of the trail closest to the old structure. The trail follows along with the Oconee Trail, before splitting off and then heading downwards quickly. The trail heads downwards for perhaps a half-mile to the marker where a spur leads down to the structure, near the creek that meanders along much of this trail.
The spur is very short, and worth the side trip. The remnants of this structure was visually fascinating, the columns of irregularly stacked stone leading down to the main structure, the moss covering everything with a blanket of green fuzz. Just a neat place to explore.
After taking a number of shots there, I took the spur back up and then back along the main trail. The rest of the trail was pleasant, but fairly normal for the area. There were some lovely fern forests near the creek at spots, and there was a welcome breeze that blew through occasionally, breaking up the summer heat. I had taken the trail towards the end of the afternoon, just before evening was coming on, which also helped with the oppressive temperatures we’ve had around here, lately.
The end of the trail heads back upwards, as expected, and the “exit” was pretty much the “entrance” to the park’s section of the Foothills Trail, which was very close to where I started. To get back to the parking lot, it’s just a little walk back down the road.
