A Trip to Nine Times Preserve
Back in the Day
When we were growing up many years ago. We didn’t have air conditioning when I was a kid. I grew up in the 60s and 70s in the Upstate of South Carolina. Times were different then, but we still had some sweltering days. Cooling off on a hot summer day meant going to the creek. Memories of playing in the waters of our shallow creek, wishing it was a deep swimming pool still make me smile. We always wanted a swimming pool so bad that we once tried to make one. Needless to say, our plan was not well thought out and could have never worked. As a child, we learned quickly there is no way to make a pool out of plastic and a few pieces of lumber.
One particularly hot, sticky, summer, even my dad, who was always too busy to notice, sympathized. He decided to use his tractor and make a small dam in the creek so we would have a natural swimming hole. We went from splashing in four inches of spring water to swimming around in about two feet of cool mountain luxury! We were in heaven! We even tied a rope to a branch over the swimming hole and would swing out and plop in. Every day for a few weeks during that hot, dry summer, we took off to the swimming hole as soon as the sun reached high enough. We played for hours and were not even worried about snakes or other critters that might join us.
Everything was going great until the mother of all thunderstorms blew in. It was the kind of storm that made you pray hard and hide under the bed! It might have been the one where we had two inches of hail, and our TV was blown out. We had some bad storms back then. When we checked the swimming hole afterward, the dam had been washed over and was gone. Our lovely deep water was gone! I remember grieving that swimming hole! All that was left was that rope tied to a tree.
How to Stay Cool Today
Today, there are many rivers and creeks that run through the upstate and a few are in parks that you can visit. So why not take the family for some outdoor fun if you need to cool off? One I can suggest is Nine Times Preserve in Northern Pickens County. Along a beautiful mountain road, you will find a beautiful mountain creek and 1.7 miles of hiking trails and 134 species of wildflowers in bloom. Nine Times Preserve is about 30 minutes from Greenville and maybe 40 minutes from Anderson, so it isn’t too far.
Preservation Creates Opportunity
Recently, I drove up the Edward Preston McDaniel Road into the Nine Times Preserve and it just so happened that Samantha McCann, a stewardship manager from The Nature Conservancy was there giving directions to summer interns who were getting ready to work on maintaining the trail. I found out, this group was made up of college students from different areas. They were ready to get their day started working on the trail to clear it from fallen trees and debris. It is nice to know the trail is being maintained. It was interesting to talk to McCann about conservation and conservation easements. Without them, we might not have places like Nine Times Preserve to enjoy.
Cooling Off
When you go, the trails, the parking lot can be hard to spot if you are not looking for it, so go slow. This beautiful 560 acre preserve is very wooded and mountainous. Down the road, while still in the Nine Times Preserve, we stopped at the bridge that goes over the creek. There is a small parking area there, and some steps made from boulders going down to the water. People have been coming here to fish and swim forever. A local fisherman was there, his chair under the bridge in the cool morning shade. He showed us a few trout swimming together, easily visible in the clear water. Nine Times Preserve would make a great day trip for the family to soak up some nature. I hope you enjoy it and the best part is, you don’t even have to try to dam it up, it is deep enough just as it is!
Books and Other Links
Check out the websites below for more information. Also, there are plenty of other places to explore for natural fun on the website for SC trails. Doing a Google image search will also show you many pictures of the area. Enjoy your explorations, and whatever you do, stay cool! There are also books for hiking the area so please check this one out. It looks really good. https://amzn.to/3OsUxkG
This one features some great spots in the Upstate of SC!
