I love exploring my hometown of Greenville, South Carolina.  This trip I decided to venture out from downtown on the Swamp Rabbit Trail.  It’s a 19.9 multi-use trail that follows an old railbed.  I started out at Falls Park on the Reedy River. Falls Park is one of my favorite spots in Greenville. On a beautiful Saturday afternoon it was buzzing.

From the falls I headed towards the Peace Center and Courtyard Marriott on over to Linky Stone Park, aka The Children’s Garden. It’s a whimsical green space with part of it under a bridge.

The sounds of the city quickly fade away as you head farther along the forested trail that follows the river.

It’s a great trail with plenty of shade as you dip in and out of the trees. I was cruising along enjoying the river, trains, an amazing sky filled with cumulus clouds, and the sights along the way.

There were some other folks on the trail, but also plenty of moments when I had the trail to myself.

I was so intrigued when I came up to the rail yard with the old railroad cars slathered with graffiti, old rusty and weather buildings, and water tank in the distance.

I wasn’t really paying attention to mileage until I saw the sign “Swamp Trail Cafe 0.5 miles.”  Told myself that will be your turnaround stop.

Swamp Trail Cafe is a cafe, grocery, and bike shop with an amazing outdoor patio.  There were some folks enjoying a late lunch, some cold brews, and just taking it easy in the shade on a Saturday afternoon. I enjoyed wandering through the grocery then grabbing a drink and snack and sitting outside doing a little people watching.

Once sufficiently refueled, I headed back down the trail. 

As I got back close to the splash pad and waterfalls by the Courtyard Marriott, I noticed a wedding party taking pictures.  It was a great afternoon for a wedding…or in my case walk.

Later I googled the distance and it looks like I got in close to 6 miles. Not bad for what was supposed to be a nice mile or two!