With Fall in full swing and October finally here, it’s officially cool weather season.
Forecasts are calling for a drop in temperatures, and while many people tend to associate this nicer weather with Fall festivals, pumpkin patches, and the occasional corn maze, there’s one very exciting way to enjoy the weather that I feel is a little less obvious: Hiking!
Hiking combines the best aspects of working out, adventuring, and sightseeing all in one.
While I know that the most popular hiking destination for Winthrop students is Crowders Mountain, I’d like to share a few more awesome destinations that are also worth a try.
1. Crowders – for those of you who don’t know, Crowders Mountain is only about 40 minutes from campus and offers a variety of different trails that vary in both difficulty and duration. My favorite part about Crowders: people tend to bring their dogs and you know what that means – puppy lovins!
2. Kings Mountain – Kings Mountain is only about 45 minutes from campus, and just like Crowders, offers an awesome adventure opportunity that’s not terribly far from campus.
3. Bakers Mountain Park – located in Hickory, NC, Bakers Mountain Park is a very mild hike featuring an observation deck at the top. This destination is about an hour and a half away, BUT Hickory offers a wide range of shopping and restaurant that could easily turn this into the perfect day trip.
4. South Mountain State Park – roughly an hour and half from campus as well, South Mountain State Park offers 40 miles of hiking trails, a beautiful waterfall, AND tons of picnic areas. Despite the distance from campus, South Mountain is definitely worth the drive.
5. Table Rock State Park – just over two hours from campus, Table Rock State park is an extremely popular hiking site for students at Clemson University. While this drive is a bit of a stretch, this could easily be the weekend getaway you’ve been in desperate need of.
6. Sassafras Mountain – this mountain is situated two and a half hours from campus and features a gorgeous observation deck. Out of the six options listed above, this is definitely the longest drive, but look at that view!
Whether you’re new to the hiking world or are a veteran mountain climber, this list provides a variety of different destinations meant to suite hikers of all different experiences and backgrounds. So grab your friends, hit the trails, and find your newest adventure collegiettes!