Saluda Grade Trail would be ‘extraordinary recreational amenity’ for region, says Conserving Carolina
The Saluda Grade Trail project, a 31-mile stretch between South Carolina and North Carolina, would be an “extraordinary recreational amenity” for the region, according to the executive director of Conserving Carolina, one of three nonprofits planning to purchase the inactive Saluda Grade railroad corridor.
The three nonprofits working together to purchase the rail corridor are Conserving Carolina, PAL: Play, Advocate, Live Well (PAL) and Upstate Forever. These nonprofit partners have made an offer to Norfolk Southern, which owns the rail corridor, according to a news release from Conserving Carolina. Negotiations are ongoing. The recently passed South Carolina budget contains a $5 million appropriation to support the purchase of the corridor.
“Saluda Grade Trail will be an extraordinary recreational amenity for the residents of our region and could become a hub for a burgeoning network of connecting parks, trails and greenways across several counties,” said Kieran Roe, executive director of Conserving Carolina. “The trail will also help preserve and promote awareness of the remarkable history of the Saluda Grade railroad, a 19th-century engineering marvel that was key to the growth and development of this part of the Carolinas.”
The Saluda Grade rail trail would run from Inman, South Carolina to Zirconia, North Carolina, with approximately 16 miles of the trail in South Carolina, and the other 15 miles located in North Carolina.
The route includes “dramatic scenery along the Blue Ridge Escarpment and passes through historic downtowns in Saluda, Tryon, Landrum, and Inman,” according to Conserving Carolina. When active from 1878 to 2001, the line was renowned as the steepest standard gauge mainline railroad ever built in the United States.
Conserving Carolina compared the trail to the popular Prisma Health Swamp Rabbit Trail or Virginia Creeper Trail, and said the rail trail would “spur economic growth while providing new opportunities for outdoor recreation.”
Laura Ringo, executive director of PAL, told the Spartanburg Herald-Journal that the first step is to negotiate a purchase from Norfolk Southern. The rail company will then need to go through an abandonment process with the U.S. Surface Transportation Board, she said.
After that, the nonprofits will work with engineers to plan the removal of old rails into construction of trails, according to the Herald-Journal. The construction phase will require fundraising and the project could be finished in roughly five years, Ringo said.
This article originally appeared on Hendersonville Times-News: Saluda Grade Trail would be ‘extraordinary recreational amenity’
