This South Carolina Hiking Trail is an Urban Gem
The idea of urban hiking can be a bit of an oxymoron, as a stroll through Central Park is a far cry from trekking on the Appalachian Trail. In Greenville, South Carolina, the line between urban and state park blurs as the city sits below 2,000-foot-tall Paris Mountain and Paris Mountain State Park. The state park is cheap to enter at just $5 and stands out as an oasis, a handful of miles from a bustling urban hub. While there are multiple excellent trails in the area, including mixed-use and single track, along with the iconic Swamp Rabbit Trail, the exquisite Sulphur Springs trail stands above the rest.
The Sulphur Springs Trail is a loop that is secluded and diverse in its landscape, rivaling many of the more famous routes in neighboring North Carolina's Dupont State Forest. Entering Paris Mountain State Park, one can reach the trailhead by following the main road to the aptly named Sulphur Springs Parking lot. This lot acts as the confluence of 3 major trails in the park and the start of the Sulphur Springs trail. From here, the trail flows north upstream along the watershed by which it gets its name toward one of the park's three lakes.
Weaving through deciduous forest, the trail climbs uphill, crossing the creek in multiple spots where one can take a moment to watch the slowly running water. The culmination of this first section is Mountain Lake and the historic pump, which once shuttled water from the lake down the mountain into Greenville. The pump is a great place to rest, have a GoGosqueeze, or a Cliff Bar, and relax before the most strenuous but spectacular portion of the hike. The trail continues to gain elevation heading uphill, paralleling the creek as it cascades down 20-foot sheets of granite. As you ascend, a final rock face and subsequent pool mark your apex and departure from the Sulphur Springs single-use trail and onto the ridge, which marks the multi-use portion.
Heading across the ridge is where your climbing pays off with views out over the rest of the park before slowly turning downhill at the Brissy Ridge parking area. In this section, you must watch for riders as they have the right of way, particularly as you begin to descend the switchbacks en route to your vehicle. Following the white blazes which signify the Sulphur Springs trail, you will finally reunite where you began, completing 4.1 miles, and over 600 feet of climbing on one of the most underrated hiking loops in the southeast.
