Spanish Moss Trail, Beaufort

The Spanish Moss Trail is the best way to see Beaufort's marshes without a boat, and it is free and open to everyone. It follows the corridor of the old Magnolia Line Railroad, established in 1870, which carried freight between the port of Port Royal and the inland rail network until rail operations ended in 2003. The Beaufort-Jasper Water and Sewer Authority acquired the right-of-way in 2008 as a utility corridor, and in 2011 it granted Beaufort County a surface easement to build a trail on top, the start of one of South Carolina's most admired greenways. The plan is for about fourteen miles linking the City of Beaufort and the Town of Port Royal, and nearly ten miles have been developed and opened, with new sections and connectors added over the years, including a planned Downtown Beaufort Connector from the Depot Trailhead. The trail is flat and wide, as you would expect from a railbed, and it is shared by walkers, runners, cyclists, families with strollers and anglers. What makes it special is the scenery. Long stretches run along causeways across open salt marsh, where the tide floods and drains the cordgrass, herons and egrets stalk the shallows and the sky feels enormous; other sections pass through quiet neighborhoods under oaks hung with the moss that gives the trail its name. Several trailheads have parking, and benches and fishing spots punctuate the route. Rules cover e-bikes and trail etiquette, and the trail's website posts closure notices, so check before you go. Hundreds of people use it every day, but it rarely feels crowded.

How to ride it: bring a bike on your car or rent one in Beaufort, park at a trailhead, and ride out and back across the marsh sections, which are the most scenic. An out-and-back of a few miles is enough for most visitors, and families with young children can stick to shorter segments. Walkers will find the marsh causeways especially peaceful at sunrise and sunset. There is little shade on the open marsh sections, so bring water, sunscreen and a hat, and in warm months insect repellent for the wooded stretches.

Timing: mornings are coolest and best for birds; low tide exposes mudflats and oyster beds busy with feeding birds and fiddler crabs, while high tide turns the marsh into shining water. Autumn and spring are the most comfortable seasons, and November days are often ideal. Check the trail's closures page and e-bike rules before you set out, and give way to walkers on busy weekend mornings.

Pair it with Beaufort. The trail makes an active start or finish to a Beaufort day: ride in the morning, then spend the afternoon downtown at the national park visitor center, the Verdier House and Henry C. Chambers Waterfront Park, with lunch on Bay Street. Anyone who has enjoyed Hilton Head's island pathways will appreciate the contrast: wilder, more open and with the marsh right under your wheels.