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Hickory Knob State Park
29 reviews
4.69 of 5
7.2 miles of handbuilt singletrack. Is a loop. Runs along the lake, up and down peninsulars. Awesome. Moderate difficulty. With the facilities in this park including cabins, golf course, lake and conference center with an all you can eat buffet, it will be the place to ride in SC. CSRA-SORBA is now putting in a 4-5 mile connector from the conference center to the barn. You will be able to ride singletrack for a nice 15 mile loop. Join SORBA and IMBA if you want more stuff like this to be built and maintained.
From McCormick, take 378 towards Georgia about 6 miles to the Chevron station on right. You will see sign pointing to HKSP. Take that road about 1 mile to entrance. Go until you see the red barn on left. Park there. You will see the kiosk. Counterclockwise is better (trail comes in on other side of parking lot).
Summary: After an annual trip to N.C. & Tenn. ride locations, we used HKSP as the stop-over ride on the way south (home), Central Florida. This is a FANTASTIC resort, with great accomodations, dining, extra activitites for family and kids....... and the lake. Reasonably priced !
HKSP offers a very FAST and flowing ride through the pines, with awesome views of the lake, coves, and abundant wildlife. Trail is so well designed, that you actually have to pay attention to "how fast" you ride - as the ride surface and gentle turns will deceive you when a drainage crossing appears, or one of the gentle climbs, which are decievingly challenging (get used to speed - and then your down to lower gears trying to maintain momentum) !
Clark Hill is a picturesque lake (whoops, forgot, Thurmond), sorry . Many swim locations - and many places for a nice stop / picnic in the grass, overlooking miles of lake.
Best part is - when finished - you exit the trails, ride 100 ft. to your room, shower, go for a swim in the large pool, play teather ball, tennis, vollyball, golf, go out boating, shoot pool in the conference center, and enjoy a Very Good and reasonably priced meal in the dining hall. Accomodations are half the price of comparable motels !
Recommended Route: From Lodge, "Beaver" to "Lakeview", then cross the street to "Turkey", then return to Lodge riding "Beaver" in reverse (a nice gentle climb just to make sure your legs are "warmed"... 16.5 miles round-trip, and easy to average 10-12 mph on this ride.
If SORBA-CSRA is actually (planning) connecting "Beaver" to "Turkey" - this will be a fantastic non-stop "S-T" ride area. Current short road ride (between "Beaver" / "Turkey/Lakeview" is not bad - actually enjoy the few steep climbs (8 percent for 1/4 mile).
Found one questionable section of "Lakeview", now that ground water levels are up/above normal levels. If you ride "Lakeview" loop in a clockwise direction - the trail eventually junctions with a trail heading towards the "Campground", and one signed as the "Bike Path" heading up to "Long Cane" (Ranger Maintenance Buildings). The bike path up to Long Cane seems to be in a "seep" area. Trail is exposed clay - minimal pine needle cover - it is holding water / wet clay, muddy. Tires will cake-up. Best to take "Campground" trail exiting "Lakeview" - and avoid this climb / wet clay.
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Summary: The Lakeview Loop at HKSP may be the best 7 mile of singletrack in the area. It is so fast it just invites a big gear, high heart rate and adrenaline flow. It has neither huge climbs or descents, but few flat spots as it flows between 420' above sea level and 340' in a constant up/down fashion. The views of the lake are awesome. No hunting all year makes it a great trail to hit on Saturdays when hunters are on the USFS property. Ridden w/ the Turkey Ridge Loop for a 9 mile loop is the best way to go.
Recommended Route: I like making one 9 mile loop out of the Turkey Ridge and Lakeview Loop. Start by crossing the street and getting on the Turkey Ridge Trail (TR Trail). At the loop, take a right onto the TR Trail. Ride one full loop, and back out the road. Cross the road and go into the woods below the pavement going up to the barn. Take a left onto the Lakeview Loop and ride it around one time. This is a 9 mile loop.
Other recommended trails in the same area: Beaver Run, Baker Creek, Wine Creek, Turkey Creek, Horn Creek, Modoc
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Summary: This trail is fantastic! It's a nice cross between the ease of Bartram Trail and the techy aspects of Wine Creek. It's a bit short but you can always do the 7 mile loop twice. The 2 mile loop (I think it's called Turkey Run?) is also quite fun and it's a nice cap on a good ride, if you want to ride more but don't want to do another 7 miles.
Recommended Route: Take the trail head to the RIGHT of the barn when facing the barn. This part of the trail is a long uphill if you do it the other way, so it's a nice way to begin the trail - with a long downhill rather than ending it with a long uphill climb.
Other recommended trails in the same area: Wine Creek, Turkey Creek, Augusta Canal Trail, Bartram Lake trail
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Review Date December 31, 2002
Overall Rating 5 of 5
Ridden Trail: Ridden Once
Visitors rate this review 5.00 of 5,
1 votes
Reviewed by: bill mc
, from lexington, sc
Summary: First, thanks to your mtbr.com trail reviews, I did not know of this trail prior to reading reviews. I took 2 nephews on a sunny, warm (64 degrees), Dec 16th. We parked at the red barn and set off about 11am. They race on while I enjoy the view of the lake. All of our bikes are straight bikes, this trail is smooth with just enough challenge here and there for all levels. Increase speed to whatever you choose for increase in difficulty. Bring camera for good photo ops in your mount. (7 mi) We cooled down on the short loop (1.8) across the street, then drove over to the info building and rode the trail there (2.5), thereby earning both nephews boy scout merit badges in cycling. Very good buffet at the restaurant too. Admission to park and trail is free, buffet is 7.95 tax & drink. The drive from Lexington SC took 1 hr 15 min.
Recommended Route: cc
Other recommended trails in the same area: Lynches Woods in Newberry, SC
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4.69 of 5
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