Thursday afternoon ceremony to mark Swamp Rabbit opening

Laurens County, South Carolina – While paving was completed late this past winter, a ribbon cutting at 4 p.m. this Thursday afternoon, June 8,  will mark the official opening of the Swamp Rabbit Trail in Laurens County, and the public is invited to come walk the trail, which begins and ends behind the Laurens County Chamber of Commerce where Thursday’s celebration will occur.

While the Laurens County Parks and Recreation had previously cleared the 1.8 mile trail in conjunction with The Laurens County Trails Association (LCTA), paving the trail became one of the 16 Capital Project Sales Tax projects under the LCTA, said Andy Howard, Parks and Recreation Director for Laurens County.

Thursday afternoon’s celebratory opening of the trail is open to the public, and organizers are seeing it as an important step to the creation of walking trails throughout the state.
“This now forms the backbone of what will eventually connect the Swamp Rabbit Trail from Fountain Inn to  the Palmetto Trail,” Howard said. “It’s already been getting a lot of use, but warm weather was a good time for the ribbon cutting so people can come out and explore the trail.”
Greenville County has been working to extend the Swamp Rabbit Trail from its trailhead in Travelers Rest and downtown Greenville to the lower end of the county. Laurens County Trails Association and officials from Laurens County, the City of Laurens and the City of Clinton hope to someday connect the counties via the Swamp Rabbit Trail to the Palmetto Trail, which passes through the Eastern corner of Laurens County.

The ceremony, located at the entrance of the trail, is behind The Laurens County Chamber of Commerce at 291 Professional Park Rd, Clinton.

This story originally ran on Page 1 of the Wednesday, June 7, 2023 issue of The Laurens County Advertiser.