Lake Whelchel Trail — Attraction in Gaffney

Our first time experiencing this trail was over the weekend with our 8 year old. We only made it half way to the boat landing when her chain came off. Lots of ups and downs. Some bigger hills a d dips for more advance riders. We was all tired and decided to head back We all had to do something to our bike. Be prepared for lots of roots. Do a full maintenance check before you ride and during and after your trail ride. Bring your water. It's a great work out on bike or hiking/walking. Husband and I went back out later in the week. We parked at boat landing and road to the dam. Took about 35 min there and back. We walked our bikes in a few spots. Right before getting to the dam there are 2 trees very close together on a down hill then up hill part. We decided to walk this part because the trail was extra narrow between the trees. The trail is very narrow in lots of places. Over all we had a great workout. From trail head to trail is a good distance. Once you get to the trail it's a 7.5 mile loop. Please be careful and take your time with all the roots and narrow places. Enjoy nature...

I walk this trail every week. Very well maintained trail. Trail is best if it’s dry, slippery in many spots if it’s not lol. Skid marks and hand prints on the trail after a rain hahaha. .5 mile walk you’ll come to a split, take a left it will take you to a pretty creek with a pretty cool rock overlook. Be prepared with water and some snacks if you plan on walking the whole loop. 8 miles all the way around. I think I saw 2 benches the whole trail so keep that in mind if you need a break. You’ll walk behind a few backyards but just stay on the trail :) pretty view of the lake you can look at while you’re awkwardly walking behind the houses lol. You’ll walk across a dam, you can walk on the road or stay on the dirt path. Kinda windy in this area most times I’ve went. You’ll get to walk through a pretty big field, all kinds of doves. My favorite part is...

Was recommended this trail by a local. That’s all i needed to hear, and I was in the mood for a good hike. The signage for the trail head is well marked from the road and there is a decent amount of parking. This was a week day, so not sure how crowded a weekend would be. The hike was great, and long. Like over 7 miles with the first half leading to the fork that navigates either way around the lake as a big loop. The trail was really nice and scenic, many parts are by the lake, so some good views for sure. I only encountered 4 other people on the 2 hour and 15 minute trek with 3 of them on bikes. Personally I think this trail would be great for a bike, but i only got my hikers, so that be what i did. And...