Mark's Photo Travels

Over the past several years I've been exploring with cameras, I've visited many of the major and minor waterfalls in Greenville County. Lately, I've expanded my waterfall explorations to Pickens County with visits to Pinnacle Falls , Todd Creek Falls and Waldrop Stone Falls . With last Friday's visit to Table Rock State Park, I've added a few more waterfalls to my "visited" list.. Table Rock State Park is located in northern Pickens County off S.C. 11, a short distance south of Greenville County's western extension. This state park was developed by the Civilian Conservation Corps from 1935-1941 by creating a lake, cabins, hiking trails, and other amenities. I've been here before, but it's been a few decades. The workers stayed in a camp a short distance south of the park  off what is now Tuscarora Loop road. I found some of the ruins, with the most visible remains being the recreation hall chimney: and the bulletin board: The rui...

I had taken some time off last week, and used one day to walk the Doodle Trail, and then the next day to chose explore some of the waterfalls of Pickens County, SC. My travels would take me back through Easley then through Liberty, Central, and Norris to two waterfalls in the Clemson Experimental Forest near Six Mile. My first waterfall was Todd Creek Falls . The tiny parking area for the waterfall is on the east side of a bridge over Todd Creek on Brookbend Road. I estimate there's room for two cars here. Directly overhead are Duke Energy transmission lines. The unmarked trailhead is directly across the road from the parking area. On the other side of the bridge is a dirt road, but with a large hole dug out to prevent motor vehicles from using it. You can reach the waterfall from this road, but it's far easier to stick with the trail. The trail is easy enough to follow for now, but in the summertime I imagine the vegetation would make following a bit harder. The po...

The Doodle Trail is a recently opened paved trail between the cities of Pickens and Easley in Pickens County. From 1898 until 2013 , this was the Pickens "Doodle" Railway , a shortline railroad. In 2013, the owner and sole remaining customer of the line, the Pickens Railway Company, moved its locomotive repair operation to Anderson. The cities of Pickens and Easley opted to jointly buy the right of way and convert the railroad into a multi-use trail. The trail opened May 23, 2015 with the usual ceremonies . I visited the former railroad in August 2013 while the rails were being removed and another visit finally made the top of my to-do list. I noticed one change immediately when I pulled into the Easley trailhead parking area off Fleetwood Drive . This restaurant building, for sale in 2013, had since been torn down... to make room for more cars: Across the street, a map board details the trail and the trail rules. While the rails have been removed here and ...