Mountain Bike Trail Opens in Goose Creek

GOOSE CREEK — Bike trails already stretch through several neighborhoods and up and down the main corridors in Goose Creek — including the new trail around the municipal pond. Now a new mountain bike trail off Westview Boulevard is getting the attention of even more Lowcountry cyclists.

The 8-mile Wannamaker North Trail opened last month as part of the Charleston County Parks and Recreation's Wannamaker County Park. The large plot of land is in Charleston County, but the access road and parking are in the city of Goose Creek.

Mayor Michael Heitzler told Patch that the city was happy to grant access to the trail and he expects city residents will be spending more time on the trail than anyone else. He's also hopeful the water levels are high enough in the trail footprint to offer some kayaking in the future.

The trail is open to cyclists and hikers of different skill levels, according to the CCPR. Admission is $1.

Designer Brad Phillips and other volunteers spent more than 600 hours working on the trail. Here's how CCPR describes the trail:

Bare soil trails were created by clearing out roots and reshaping existing dirt mounds, while keeping most of the tract’s large-diameter trees intact. The trail intentionally routes by several beautiful, large-diameter live oaks and American beeches. More experienced bicyclists will travel on the northeast section of the trail, which follows along and over-top of an elevated ridge. Mile markers and color indicators will soon be included on the Wannamaker North Trail, and eventually, benches and other amenities may be added as well.

Dan Conover wrote about the North Wannamaker Trail in a recent Charleston City Paper article. He describes one particularly challenging stretch.

The portion of the trail that required the most work is also its signature feature. Nicknamed "the Ridge" by trail builders, it's a half-mile-long, sinuous mound of dirt left behind during the excavation of the canal-like ditch beside it. Wannamaker North rises and falls with the tall mound's contours, offering fast descents and sudden rises that make attempting the run at low speed a cautious folly. "You've got to use your momentum to get up some of those climbs," Phillips says. "If you try to ride it too slowly, your front wheel starts getting unstable at the top."

Read more of Conover's article.