Bike Friendly & Miles of Trails
Spartanburg’s bike-ability rate is 78% of 100, making it a convenient place to bike through, whether through downtown, a restaurant date, or even running errands. Spartanburg is also the first in South Carolina to earn recognition by the League of American Bicyclists!
Spartanburg is home to great road rides, vast tail systems, and even tough cycling challenges and annual professional races.
The Cottonwood Trail is one of the many trails throughout the Upstate, but this 115-acre urban preserve and trail system is located minutes from downtown Spartanburg. The Cottonwood Trail property protects a 1.5 mile stretch of Lawson’s Fork Creek and several feeder streams.
In Spartanburg, you can also find Edwin M. Griffin Nature Preserve that can be explored for hours. The Edwin M. Griffin Nature Preserve offers over five miles of trails for runners and nature lovers to take a break from city traffic. It provides a place for citizens to kayak, canoe, run, walk, and enjoy other recreational activities. The greenspace has unique and outstanding features, including several wetlands, open spaces, geological formations, and animal habitats. The Edwin M. Griffin Nature Preserve is home to numerous species, including deer, wild turkeys, foxes, beavers, raccoons, birds, reptiles, trees, and wildflowers!
If you’re a history buff and a nature lover, check out Croft State Park. Located just five miles from downtown, you will find a sprawling 7,054 acres once was a World War II Army training base. Explore its rolling hillsides on foot, bike, or even horseback. Within the park is more than twenty miles of equestrian trails and even rentable stalls and show ring. You can fish or paddle Lake Johnson and Lake Craig or camp at one of the fifty campsites. The South Carolina Department of Natural Resources also offers a series of rifle ranges, a pistol range, and archery stands.
You can also find smaller trails all around Spartanburg, including the Mary Black Foundation Rail Trail, The Wadsworth Trail, and the Drayton Mills trail!
What is the lifestyle of Spartanburg?
You may hear locals say, “There is only one Spartanburg.”
That statement is entirely accurate; with the only city in the country with that name, Spartanburg has continued to grow and redesign its reputation. Spartanburg’s cultural district has also continued to grow. Spartanburg is home to more than two dozen indoor and outdoor venues, a vast collection of murals, diverse colleges and universities, and plenty of free events.
The international business community has also helped grow the diversity of restaurants that range from Japanese, Jamaican, Irish, or Vietnamese, so you’ll always be able to try new food. You’ll also find a plentiful supply of local breweries in the area, like RJ Rockers, Ciclops Cyderi Brewery, and New Groove Artisan Brewery.
Spartanburg is also known for being rich in agriculture, making for many farmers markets, such as the Hub City Farmer’s Market, and smaller markets in Inman, Cowpens, Landrum, and Woodruff. So if you want to shop sustainably, look no further.
Spartanburg residents also love to support local businesses, so you’ll find plenty of those around the city as well!
In case you need a change in scenery on the weekend, you’ll find that Charlotte is only a one and a half-hour drive, and Atlanta is only two and a half hours away.
