Alston Trailhead - Palmetto Trail — Attraction in South Carolina

The place is very difficult to find. You travel down a dirt road and then a gravel road and then you come to a gate that says Palmetto Trail keep closed after night. You go through that gate and drive a mile or so, and you are dumbfounded at this point. The only way I found the Palmetto Trail entry was asking a construction worker and he said you missed it it was the first left. I did what he said and I went up a slight incline to a bare spot that probably 3 or 4 campers can pitch their tent. I never did find any fire rings, but I did stay there for 3 nights. During the nights, the train comes by blaring its horn and if you're a light sleeper, you're going to have a problem going back to sleep. Another thing that happened, drug deals we're happening right outside my tent. I have a 2007 FJ Cruiser and my tent is on top of the vehicle so I wasn't any real danger. I'm a concealed weapons permit instructor for the state of South Carolina so I was armed and I felt very good that I had some type of Defense. I'm not saying the place is bad, I'm just saying the reviews that are on this website are not realistic. I will probably go back there and be a little more prepared then I was on this trip. I did meet two interesting man, one was a professional photographer that drove all over the United States and Canada taking pictures and pulling a very nice RV with his pickup truck. Quite the philosopher. He was very astute and knew what he was talking about. The other gentleman his name was Don, and he drove in with a small 4-cylinder car, and he says that he has been to Peru, Himalayas, Panama and so many other places. He had the passport prove it. Not sure how he got his funding but he literally finds water wherever he goes. I gave him a South Carolina map and told him to head up to Walhalla South Carolina and he'll find plenty of streams that he can camp beside. He was a great guy! I never found any fire rings so I just found some wood and made my own fire. Had a real nice time reading and meeting these guys here are...

This is one of the prettiest, flattest trails in the area. The trail is technically 10 miles long (which makes it a 20 mile, out and back trail). But you can walk to wherever your hearts desire and turn around.

I tend to take my dogs out there. The trail is wide enough to have several people walking side by side. It's a great place to start biking, too. There are plenty of cyclists.

There is one steep area within the first mile, after a bridge that can be tricky if it's wet ground.

The bridges can be a bit soft, too. So watch your step.

I did almost trip and fall on my run today for it. But they seem to have a good handle on replacing the boards quickly.

There are plenty of places to camp along this trail, too.

There are two other trail heads along this trail (Peak to Prosperity trail).

The parking lot can hold a decent amount if everyone parks respectfully. You could easily get...

This is a beautiful trailhead that starts off at the old railroad trestle bridge. The site is under construction right now but looks to be making some excellent improvements. Depending on the time of year, you absolutely want to make sure you have some sort of mosquito and tick repellent. The first part of the walk goes across the old railroad bridge over the river and is in my opinion the highlight of the hike. I'm hoping with the new construction project they put in some restroom facilities but I did not locate any on this part of the trail. Keeping in mind this is a straight trail you're going to have to walk out and back unless you have a ride at...