Connecting to South Carolina’s Black River

Since the publication of this Story Map in 2021, the results of the community-driven master plan and vision for the Black River Water Trail & Park Network have now become available. Learn more by visiting, ‘  The Black River Experience .'

An exciting collaborative of conservation partners, state agencies, and local governments is launching a visionary effort to link a series of riverside public and private parks along a 70-mile stretch of South Carolina's scenic Black River.

The proposed Black River Water Trail & Park Network — featuring the first new state park in 15 years — is being planned to meet the open space and access needs of communities along the water, while creating nature-based tourism opportunities to boost the local economy.

The Black River Water Trail & Park Network will include recreational offerings such as kayaking, picnicking, camping, biking, hiking, fishing, and so much more. Read on to learn more about the river and opportunities to get involved in the master planning process.

To learn more about the history, culture, and wildlife of the Black River, and the early master planning process for the initiative, please revisit, ‘  Connecting to South Carolina's Black River  .'

The Black River Water Trail & Park Network incorporates existing boat landings, parks, and preserves. It also includes Kingstree's Black River Landing; the newly opened Rocky Point Community Forest; and the Hinds Canada property, recently acquired by South Carolina State Parks as the first new state park in South Carolina in 15 years.

Click on the boat landing icons and public access parcels for more information.

Among its various roles, the river has been a source of drinking water, food, and materials; a route for travel and commerce; and a place of refuge, rest, and recreation.

Centuries ago, Native American inhabitants, including the Winyaw (Winyah), Santee, Pedee (Peedee), Waccamaw, Sewee, and Wenee (Weenee) tribes, called the Black River their home and slipped silently through the river in dugout canoes. Today a flotilla of children in brightly colored kayaks can be seen splashing on these same waters.

In the 1730s, the Black River became a focus area for inland settlement of the South Carolina colony. By 1765, a total of 13 towns existed in the area, though only Williamsburg and Orangeburg would outlast the American Revolution.

Another notable feature of the Black River landscape is the presence of roughly five thousand acres of former rice plantations in Georgetown County. Large-scale rice cultivation was made possible by African enslaved labor, which came to an end with the Civil War.

Since the Civil War, the timber industry has been a dominant source of livelihood for local residents. The resulting patterns of large privately held and managed timberlands continue to this day.

While population trends, modern-day transportation, and other factors have somewhat loosened residents’ ties to the Black River, an appreciation for the river’s recreational and scenic offerings persists to this day. Today, many acknowledge the Black River’s immense value and are working to protect this beautiful river for future generations.

This section was derived from the History & Cultural Resources section of the Black Scenic River Management Plan. Access the plan  here .

The Black River's breathtaking scenery can be broadly grouped into three natural habitats, based on elevation and soil types: (1) tidal freshwater forests, (2) bottomland hardwood forests, and (3) adjacent upland longleaf pine forests.

Click through the slideshow to see images of each of these habitats.

At least 16 rare plant species, including the federally endangered Chaffseed and Canby’s Cowbane, and the federal at-risk Carolina Birds-in-a-Nest, call the Black River ecosystem home.

Colonial wading birds, migratory and resident waterfowl, songbirds, birds of prey, and woodpeckers, all can be seen overhead or in the river's still waters. Additionally, the American eel, American shad, blueback herring, and Atlantic and shortnose sturgeon, all use the river for essential parts of their life cycles.

Red and gray foxes and marsh rabbit, coastal black bear, and several species of bats, including the big brown bat and the rare and endangered Rafinesque’s big-eared bat, also rely on the river.

The Black River has experienced unprecedented rainfall in recent years. In 2015, the river rose nearly twice its average flow and stayed flooded for two weeks.

As demonstrated in a  recent analysis  by researchers at Clemson University, floodplain storage in intact forested river systems is critically important. Studying flooding in the nearby Pee Dee River, the researchers found that intact riverbank vegetation and forests act as a sponge, significantly lessening the impact of floods.

Intact forested wetlands along the Black River protect and recharge clean water in many ways, including capturing and dispersing sediment and filtering runoff from farms.

The Black River watershed is upstream of the Pee Dee River surface water intake for Georgetown County and a new water treatment facility and future intake on the Black River. The Black River Water Trail & Park Network will play the critical role of protecting the county's water by preventing ditching and dredging from agricultural practices and timber harvests, and pollution associated with development.

To date, conservation along the Black River has largely been a private effort by the Natural Resource Conservation Service and nonprofit land trusts and other organizations, including the Open Space Institute, The Nature Conservancy, Ducks Unlimited, Pee Dee Land Trust, Lowcountry Land Trust, Lord Berkeley Land Trust, and Congaree Land Trust. Many of these protected locations are available for fishing, paddling, birding, and more.

Below, take a tour of several of these privately-protected preserves, each of which is already, or will be soon, open to the public!

The South Carolina Department of Natural Resources has developed a comprehensive management plan for the Black Scenic River (read it  here ). Building on this effort, South Carolina State Parks, the Open Space Institute, The Nature Conservancy, Ducks Unlimited, the National Park Service, and Winyah Rivers Alliance now invite you to participate in a master planning process, led by Earth Design, that will help shape the Black River Water Trail & Park Network in Williamsburg and Georgetown Counties.

A report and master plan will be developed based on gathered input, outlining a path forward for the new trail and a network of parks along the Black River corridor. 

The community is invited to provide feedback about the network of parks and the water trail, such as paddling routes, information kiosks, picnic shelters, hiking trails, riverside cabins, or new river access points. 

In addition to community participation, the final master plan will include input from the National Park Service Rivers, Trails, and Conservation Assistance Program; professional landscape architects partnered with the South Carolina Chapter of the American Society of Landscape Architecture; landscape architecture students from Clemson University; and the steering committee.

Your opinion matters! Get involved to help us make the Black River Water Trail & Park Network all that it can be. Below are different ways to engage in the process. Click  here  to watch a recording of a webinar (Dec. 14, 2021) with updates about the trail; please visit this site again for updated information about attending future public meetings.

Use the resources below to launch your own excursion on the Black River. Before you go, visit each website to learn about hours of operation and other important details.

Plan A Visit

• The Black River Cypress Preserve (Andrews) is accessible via the Black River and features abundant opportunities for outdoor recreation, education, and research, in naturally beautiful and diverse ecosystems. The property is owned and managed by the Butler Conservation Fund. Visit the Cypress Preserve  website  for more information.

• Rocky Point Community Forest (Georgetown) features a boat landing and adjacent kayak launch. Visit this  Facebook page  to learn about the latest events at Rocky Point Community Forest.

• The Black River Preserve (Georgetown) features 1,000-year-old bald cypress trees and breathtaking Black River scenery. The preserve is owned and managed by The Nature Conservancy. Visit the Black River Preserve  website  for more information.

Paddling Maps

Access printable versions of maps for three premier paddling locations (Mingo Landing, Rocky Point Community Forest, Pine Tree Landing) by clicking on the icons within the map below.