A few years ago we started a tradition of going on a family hike for my birthday in March. Sadly, COVID-19 has ruined a lot of traditions and plans in 2020. While quarantine and closed state and national parks kept us from a real hike, my sweet 10 year old planned a “hike” through our neighborhood, complete with a nature scavenger hunt. But by Mother’s Day, things had improved a bit and we were able to get out beyond the neighborhood for a short hike at Anne Springs Close Greenway in Fort Mill, SC.
While things had started to open up around the Carolinas, there were still a lot of restrictions in place. As of mid-May, Anne Springs Close Greenway was open to the public Monday through Thursday, but on weekends only members were allowed to visit in an effort to keep crowds to a minimum. Knowing that I needed a change of scenery and an outing (no matter how small), my husband quickly hopped online and joined. (Family memberships are $10 a month or $120 for the year.) Social distancing rules were in place at all times at the greenway.
Anne Springs Close Greenway is a 2,100 acre nature preserve offering hiking, mountain biking, horseback riding, kayaking, and more. It has tons to offer but I will admit that on this, our first post-quarantine outing, we went online and found a trail that we wanted to hike – the Prairie Loop – and just focused on that. We parked right at the trailhead, hiked the loop, enjoyed an early picnic dinner, and headed home. Hopefully some day in the near future, there will be a return to normalcy and we’ll have the opportunity to check out some of the greenway’s other activities.
The Prairie Loop is one of the several nature trails that make up a 36 mile trail system in the preserve. It is a pretty 3.1 mile loop that passes through heavily wooded areas as well as open fields dotted with wildflowers. It is both a hiking and biking path, and bikers had to go in one direction while hikers went the other. While this alleviated the issue of bikers surprising hikers from behind, I actually thought it was a pretty narrow trail to allow both. We often had to pull ourselves and our dog off the trail and into fairly heavy overgrowth in order to allow bikers to pass.
The trail itself was great for the kids – both a good distance and challenge level for them. It had some decent hills but enough flat areas to give the kids a break. I have one kid who is in to hikes for the sake of hiking and one who really only wants to hike if there is a reward at the end. This hike had no waterfall or stunning view as a payoff but it was still enjoyable nonetheless (at least for 3/4 of us).
Both boys did really enjoy the surprise discovery of a suspension bridge. The bridge led to the Blue Star Trail, the “main thoroughfare” of the Greenway. The boys enjoyed walking across it, bouncing up and down a little, and trying to figure out the engineering behind the bridge.
As we continued our hike, we came upon Stumpy Pond. A family was fishing on the far bank of the pond and a few ducks swam close to the near edge. The trees and blue sky reflected beautifully in the water and wildflowers lined the path. It was a pretty interlude along the trail.
The trail continued and wound its way back around to the barn and adventure center. I really enjoyed the changing scenery along the trail. For a relatively short trail, it had some pretty diverse landscapes. But I think my favorite part was the wildflowers. There were several different varieties and I loved the splash of color they added to our walk.
After our hike we grabbed a picnic table in a field near the parking lot and enjoyed a peaceful picnic dinner. I thought the Prairie Loop was a great introduction to Anne Springs Close Greenway and I’m excited to go back and explore more that the preserve has to offer in the future.
