Saluda Grade Rail Trail updates leave some residents excited, others apprehensive

Henry Gramling and his family are longtime residents of Gramling, South Carolina.

His family once worked for the Saluda Grade Railroad, a steep, scenic route connecting Spartanburg and Asheville. They also owned land and farmed it nearby.

There hasn’t been a train on the Saluda Grade tracks since 2001, but the old railroad tracks still run through Gramling’s property.

Now, a conservancy of non-profit groups in North and South Carolina is working to turn the former railroad into a multi-use trail. It will span 31.5 miles and connect several small towns.

The trail will cross Gramling’s land. That’s why he doesn’t support it.

“It is our land that is underneath the railroad,” Gramling said. “I don't want the public in that part of my property. It’s private property, and the railroad has always maintained that in that they very, very diligently kept people off. And now we're totally repurposing that strip of land and turning it from private land to public land, and it's not good.”

According to the Saluda Grade website, anyone who steps off the trail beyond what the easement covers would be trespassing. Gramling is still wary and says many of his friends are, too.

Gramling was among over 100 locals who joined three conservation groups on Tuesday, Aug. 13, for an update on the proposed Saluda Grade Rail Trail.

The Saluda Grade Rail Trail inherited its name and location from the now-defunct railroad. It will traverse the same territory.

The southernmost stop on the trail is Inman, South Carolina. Slightly north in Gramling, nonprofits Conserving Carolina, Upstate Forever and PAL: Play, Advocate, Live Well hosted Tuesday’s update. Attendees spilled out of the social hall at Gramling United Methodist Church to hear news about the trail.

Ahead of construction, residents have mixed feelings

Some residents were thrilled about the trail’s potential. Others were more apprehensive.

Gramling is also concerned about safety and desires to keep his land away from the trail route.

“It has been reported that Greenville County's highest crime rate is on Swamp Rabbit Trail North of Greenville up to Travelers Rest,” Gramling said.

Spokespeople for the sheriff’s offices in Greenville and Travelers Rest confirmed to The Greenville News that no data support a claim that crime rates are higher on the trail.

Additionally, a 1998 study of 372 rail trails spanning nearly 7,000 miles concluded that only 3% of responding trails had experienced a major crime (mugging, assault, rape or murder).

Gramling said he doesn’t mind trails overall and has other ideas about where to put them—he just doesn’t want this one.

“It's going to change our community because now we'll have strangers here,” he said. “We're not seclusionists. We don't want to bury our heads in the sand by any means, but I want people to come to my front door and ring the doorbell to come in. I don’t want them walking in my back door.”

'Crazy cycling dad' excited for new trail

Meanwhile, local real estate broker Matt Holiday, a self-described “crazy cycling dad,” said he is excited for the new trail. He and his family live near “The Dan” trail in Spartanburg, and he said he thinks people are nicer to one another when they’re on the trail together.

“One thing I experience in all the trails is every walk of life, they'll gather. My family, for instance, we’ve got three generations on the trail at one time. It’s very special,” Holiday said. “Overwhelmingly, it's been positive.”

Holiday said he’s been taking his children on nearby trails since they were 10 months old. For a holiday, a perfect day on the Swamp Rabbit would start at The Greenville Zoo and include a ride downtown to the Swamp Rabbit Café, where he’d grab some Stecca bread. After that, he’d head toward Travelers Rest for dessert.

He said that in his experience, clients have always been excited about having access to local trails.

“We believe that it brings in more people, more interest because people see opportunity,” Holiday said.

Read more about the Saluda Grade Rail Trail: What does the future of northern Spartanburg County look like? Outdoor tourism .

Results of year-long feasibility study

At the meeting, conservancy and design firm TPD members shared the results of a year-long feasibility study. The study highlighted the expected community and economic impact and development, needs to make the trail a reality.

Earlier this month, The Saluda Grade Trails Conservancy entered a contract with Norfolk Southern, the railroad’s current owner, to purchase the 31-mile rail corridor. Now, the conservancy members have one year to secure the remaining funds needed to complete the purchase.

Laura Ringo, PAL’s Executive Director, said much work is ahead as the conservancy prepares to close the corridor.

“We expect that by July 2025, we will own the corridor,” she said. “During that same time, we're going to be doing due diligence, which includes surveys, title work, an environmental assessment…we’re also going to be looking at a marketing plan and some more community engagement, so you're going to continue to hear from us.”

What will the trail look like?

The Saluda Grade Trail will be part of a federal “ railbanking ” program, which allows inactive rail corridors to be used as trails but allows a railroad to be reestablished if needed. During this process, a railroad can remove all equipment except bridges, tunnels, and culverts.

According to the conservancy, Norfolk Southern does not have plans to use the railroad again. No trains have used the track since 2001 .

At Tuesday’s presentation, the conservancy partnered with design firm TPD (formerly known as Traffic Planning and Design, Inc.) to share survey feedback about the trail and discuss the costs and economic impact of the building process.

According to Teresa Buckwalter , a transportation planner with TPD, the trail will likely range from eight to 14 feet wide and use either asphalt or concrete, though a 12-foot-wide asphalt surface is “pretty standard.”  The construction cost per mile ranges from $1.1 million to $1.6 million; if a retaining wall is needed in a specific area, the cost jumps to $5.5 million per mile.

The trail will have to account for 47 road crosses, along with the rehabilitation of several bridges.

Buckwalter said the American Tobacco Trail in the Triangle Region of North Carolina, the Virginia Creeper Trail in Virginia and the Swamp Rabbit Trail in Greenville all served as references for the proposed Saluda Grade Trail.

TPD and the conservancy also conducted an online survey and gathered responses from nearly 1,250 people. More than half of the respondents said they planned to travel either 10 miles or more or the entirety of the 31-mile trail.

According to the survey, 42% of people planned to use the trail a few times a month, with 21% planning to use it a few times each week. The most popular planned activities are walking, running and cycling, but people also said they plan to bring their pets and kids to the trail or use it to enjoy nature and relax.

The conservancy will also search for ways to connect the new trail to the Ecusta Trail in North Carolina and the Daniel Morgan Trail in South Carolina .

“There are a lot of other trails that may intersect with this, and so we really want to provide this experience if you're on the Saluda Grade that you can access other experiences as well,” Buckwalter said.

What will the trail's financial impact be?

Buckwalter said the group plans to use the trail to connect towns – something 70% of respondents said they hope to see.

“It's not surprising that folks want to access the trails from the towns, and that's kind of what we want people to do, right?” she said. “Come to the town, and have a good time and spend your money.”

Projections for the trail’s revenue indicate that its impact will extend beyond construction. The group worked with Clemson University to estimate the proposed trail's economic impact.

During construction, the conservancy and TPD expect the creation of more than 250 jobs, accounting for $62-$86 million in compensation. Overall, they expect roughly $20 million yearly over a 12-year period, including construction and the first 10 years of trail use.

Buckwalter said that each mile of the trail will generate about $8 million in 12 years.

The Swamp Rabbit Trail in Greenville has already proven to increase revenue. During its fourth year of operation , Swamp Rabbit Trail users contributed $6.7 million to the local economy , according to a study from Furman University.

Read more: Swamp Rabbit Trail helps Travelers Rest businesses boom

As the group prepares for construction, they will also pursue state and federal funding for design and construction.

Recently, the conservancy received a $450,000 grant from the Appalachian Regional Initiative for Stronger Economies .

For more information about the Saluda Grade Trail, visit the group’s website .

Sarah Swetlik covers climate change and environmental issues in South Carolina's Upstate for The Greenville News. Reach her at sswetlik@gannett.com or on X at @sarahgswetlik .

This article originally appeared on Greenville News: Saluda Grade Rail Trail updates leave some residents excited, others apprehensive