Outdoor center in Berkeley

The Palmetto Conservation Foundation, the driving force behind the Palmetto Trail, has opened an outdoor center in St. Stephen with hopes that it will serve as a catalyst for locals and tourists to discover the benefits of Berkeley County's trails and waterways.

The grand opening of the Palmetto Trail's Hell Hole Outdoor Center, named for the Hell Hole Swamp area, will be Sept. 6 and will feature several hikes and paddling trips.

Oliver Buckles, the foundation's trail coordinator for the Lowcountry, says that the center has tremendous potential for drawing attention not only to the hiking and biking on more than 100 miles of the Palmetto Trail, but to the 175 miles of "paddling trails" of Berkeley County's Blueways system and the newest state forest, Wee Tee State Forest, on the northern side of the Santee River.

"I think we're going to be able to bring people to St. Stephen to enjoy the great outdoors," says Buckles, adding that upper Berkeley County should capitalize more on its array of outdoor recreation opportunities.

Eventually, he hopes, the center not only will offer kayaks and mountain bikes for rent, but that it will serve to encourage more outdoor outfitters to set up shop in and around the St. Stephen area.

Modeled after the foundation's first outdoor center in Wedgefield that was opened in the spring, the St. Stephen center will be staffed to provide information and other resources such as maps. It also will serve as the starting point for regularly organized hikes and paddle trips, guided by naturalists, historians and other experienced trip leaders.

"We want to show people what resources are available, and then they can return with friends and do it on their own," says Buckles. "We want to promote healthy living outdoors and help encourage people to use the outdoors as a way of life."

The foundation is partnering with the town of St. Stephen, which will provide the center's staff member, Betty Delk. The center is in an existing community center building at S.C. Highway 45 and Main Street (at the railroad tracks) in St. Stephen. Also similar to Wedgefield, Santee Cooper is picking up the cost of the outdoor center.

"The Wedgefield project has been a real success, but I really think the St. Stephen center will get an even bigger response because of the water activities that are available," says Buckles, adding that he increasingly is seeing more vehicles hauling kayaks or with kayak racks in the area.

The center will not be fully operational until Sept. 3. At that point, its hours will be 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Wednesdays-Saturdays and 1-4 p.m. Sundays.

For more information, contact the Hell Hole Outdoor Center at 567-4880 or hellhole center@palmettoconservation.org, or see www.palmetto conservation.org.