Saluda Grade Rail Trail closer to reality in Spartanburg Co.

SPARTANBURG COUNTY, S.C. (WSPA) – The Saluda Grade Trails Conservancy announced recently it is under contract to purchase an unused rail line for a future trail.

The Saluda Grade Rail Trail will be a 31-mile rail to trail conversion.

The trail will run from Inman in Spartanburg County through Campobello, Landrum, Tryon, and end in Saluda in North Carolina.

The Saluda Grade Trails Conservancy made up of Play. Live. Advocate. Live Well. (PAL), Conserving Carolina, and Upstate Forever.

“We have signed a purchase and sale agreement with Norfolk Southern, which is the railroad that owns that right of way,” said Laura Ringo, executive director of PAL. “So now the clock is ticking for us, we have 12 months to get through a due diligence process to fully purchase the lot. This is a huge step in moving this project forward, up to 12 months from now we will own the line, then we are going to start on design and start thinking about the first phase of construction.”

The trail could look similar to the two-mile-long Mary Black Foundation Rail Trail in Spartanburg but much longer.

“It’s a tremendous project. It’s a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity where you get 31 miles of a trail system, not only for South Carolina but going into North Carolina,” said Billy Dunlap, chief tourism development officer with OneSpartanburg. “A lot of times you will get trails like that that are smaller in size but nothing of this magnitude.”

OneSpartanburg said the trail has the ability to impact many lives.

“It will drive retail development, it will drive hospitality with restaurants, breweries, bars,” Dunlap added. “It will be a true destination, it will be a place people just don’t want to come for the day but they will come for the weekend. They will utilize the trail from start to finish, so its got a chance to really be a tremendous impact for the area.”

Results from a year-long engineering and economic impact study were presented to the public on August 13th at 6 p.m. at Gramling United Methodist Church near Inman.

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