Saluda Shoals Park

Prior to the beginning of winter break, I had all these great ideas of places I wanted to visit and blog about. However, the weather and my body had other plans for me. My body preferred to lay around the house all day and with so much rain and gloomy clouds, I allowed myself to just be lazy. When we finally did get a break in the weather, we jumped in the truck and headed down the road to Saluda Shoals Park!

*Finn was so happy to finally be outside!

Saluda Shoals offers a variety of activities including hiking, biking, kayaking, and geocaching. There is even a dog park and splash pad for the little ones! One of the reasons I enjoy visiting this park, is that it offers park goers the opportunity to walk alongside the Saluda River. Visitors can enjoy all the sights and sounds the river habitat has to offers, such as turtles, strip bass, and blue heron. If you're lucky, you may even find some flying fish!

With all this rain, the river levels were higher than normal with the flow being around 15,000 cfs (cubic feet per second). As a result, much of the path alongside the river was under water. We still had fun though hiking in the woods, along the road, and over the boardwalk.

* In the distance you can see the Saluda River. The water in the forefront of the picture is where the path should be.

*All the water didn't stop Hank from exploring!

One of the coolest things about Saluda Shoals is that it offers tons of different opportunities to learn about nature, including field trips! If I was a grade level teacher, I would definitely want to bring my students here! For more information about the variety of programs Saluda Shoals' offers, click here.

* Can you imagine all the fun and exploration that takes places here?

Each holiday season, Saluda Shoals offers a driving lights tour. They were just beginning to turn on the lights as we were leaving!

Until next time, Happy New Year! Is anyone going on a First Day Hike January 1st? Many parks offer free admissions! Fingers crossed that it doesn't rain here. For more information on First Day hikes, click here.