Find the top rated birding trails in Berea, whether you're looking for an easy short birding trail or a long birding trail, you'll find what you're looking for. Click on a birding trail below to find trail descriptions, trail maps, photos, and reviews.
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Beautiful quiet trail especially during the week. The northern part near Gilky is more pastural than the southern half. There is no obvious trail head sign on northern trail entrance so you need to consult your GPS ahead of time to find it. There are no portapottys either on the northern part but if you go about a mile on the trail there is ‘johnny blue’ near the trail. Parking for about 20 cars are at the Gilky entrance.
It would be nice if you could just find an address for the start point so you could just put it in your gps. The trail is paved and flat. It’s also pretty narrow and usually busy. The trail is nice for walking, but it’s kind of tight for riding bikes.
Drive two hours from northeast Georgia to give this trail a try this morning. Parked in the Pickens Depot parking area even though it isn’t officially open yet. A nice Pickens official happened to be there and gave me the thumbs up to park otherwise the overflow parking was just behind the depot. Throughly enjoyed the ride to Easley. There are some sustained railroad grades that will get your heart pumping so a cardio workout should be expected. I loved every minute of the ride and plan to go back with my wife over Memorial Day weekend another cities have done a wonderful job with their parks. Great job.
I rode the trail for the first time yesterday. The other reviews are very accurate
Positives
1. the trail has no big hills, so it is very nice.
2. it goes right through downtown Greenville so you get to go right next to the falls.
3. once you get a mile or two north of Greenville it is very scenic and rural, very relaxing.
4. the trail is well maintained. grass along the side is cut nicely.
5. It goes by Furman, i had never visited Furman.
Negatives
1. The signage through downtown Greenville is terrible. Some people were critical of the train through town. I think of it the other way. It is really not a trail through downtown. SOmeone figured a way to get from the the zoo south of town to the trail north of town and i give them credit. YOu can't go fast, there are some tough corners, you have to watch out for pedestrians because some is on a sidewalk. But that's great they could figure it out. But i got lost twice trying to get through. Signs are needed telling you where to go.
2. The path is bumpy. There are a lot of tree root bumps in the trail. It is not terrible yet but will be in a year or two.
3. Someone complained there are a lot of road to cross. There are but they are all ok, except one. There is a 4 lane highway to cross with a small median. No stop light. SOmeone is going to get killed or hurt bad there, the cars are going 55+ and were pretty steady when i crossed. I know it's a big expense but i hope it's on the list of 'wants'.
There were a few businesses along the way. One bar if you wanted a beer just north of Greenville. And a few things in Travelers Rest. There were some other reviews that said there were a lot of businesses on the trail, not so.
I am from Atlanta, it was nice to bring my bike up and use the trail. Thank you to the people of Greenville for having the foresight to building this nice trail.
North of French Broad River Park there is NO trail, or at least it does not connect to the park. Immediately south of the park (under the bridge) the trail is extremely washed out for some distance, then it's in great shape for considerable distance (no accurate estimate of how far). We WERE able to get in 7-8 miles round trip before we hit mud (just south of the campground). Trail may continue beyond that point, we did not try it. Watch out for deep sand periodically and ride accordingly.
Rode the Thermal Belt Trail in December 2018. This is a great trail, newly-paved for 13+ miles. We have hybrids but you could ride road bikes with no problem. We parked at Bechtler Mint Site and rode to the bridge at Hwy. 74. Perfect surface. Crossed a few roads but they are not big or busy. In that space we traveled through a number of small towns: Ruth, Rutherfordton, Forest City, and Florence. The only drawback is that I prefer countryside scenery. But the trail itself is awesome, with additional improvements to come!
Rode the Thermal Belt Trail in December 2018. This is a great trail, newly-paved for 13+ miles. We have hybrids but you could ride road bikes with no problem. We parked at Bechtler Mint Site and rode to the bridge at Hwy. 74. Perfect surface. Crossed a few roads but they are not big or busy. In that space we traveled through a number of small towns: Ruth, Rutherfordton, Forest City, and Florence. The only drawback is that I prefer countryside scenery. But the trail itself is awesome, with additional improvements to come!
Paving is now complete from Forest City near the bridge over US 74 to Gilkey. Feel free to take your road bike!
While not overly difficult and relatively short, Swamp Rabbit is one of my favorites for several reasons: • Places to stop and eat in GVille and Trav Rest • Condition of trail is never an issue since main path is paved entire way • Scenery is both rural and urban, with a ride by/thru Furman University campus a nice bonus • Slope of trail provides some gains and drops in elevation - nothing brutal but I am not a fan of “flat” for long stretches • An Urban experience with plenty of places to shop and eat in downtown Greenville • ONLY DRAWBACK is 3-4 very busy crossings with heavy traffic
Honestly I only ran One half of this trail. It was mostly along the road but it wasn’t busy and I enjoyed the views. I ran into the other neighborhoods and got a good 5 miles in. The paved roads were smooth and I felt safe. Next time I will Park at Grace Church and run that side into the wooded area.
the last 4.8 miles are being prepared for paving! Active construction was seen and good progress being made. When it is complete, it will be over 12 miles of smooth, new pavement.
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