Upstate hikers looking for a strenuous jaunt 900 feet up a ridge line have a new option with the opening of the 1.4-mile Henry Trail in the Gap Creek section of the Mountain Bridge Wilderness Area.
The new trailhead and parking area is on Gap Creek Road just off U.S. Highway 25 in northern Greenville County. The trail will eventually become part of the Gap Creek Passage of the Palmetto Trail and link the Saluda Mountains and Middle Saluda passages at Jones Gap State Park.
Representatives of the Palmetto Trail, the South Carolina State Park Service and the S.C. Department of Parks, Recreation and Tourism celebrated the trail opening Aug. 7 during a ribbon-cutting ceremony at the trailhead.
“The Henry Trail is a perfect example of our continued commitment to expanding outdoor recreation opportunities and access within South Carolina and throughout our state park system,” said Adin Fell, mountain regional chief for South Carolina State Park Service. “It is a place of natural beauty, adventure and discovery, and we are honored to help make it more accessible to the public.”
The new trail sits within the 958-acre Gap Creek tract of the more than 17,000-acre Mountain Bridge Wilderness Area, which connects Jones Gap and Caesars Head state parks.
“There is something very special about these mountains,” said Phil Gaines, a member of the Palmetto Trail board and former director of state parks at the time the Gap Creek tract was acquired. “The Palmetto Trail is honored to partner with the state park service to provide public access to this very special place.”
