Things to do / Travel Guide
Georgia offers some good barrier island bike riding and South Carolina's shore area is another perfect place for biking, if you like the ocean and the cool breeze pushing you along. Bikes can be easily rented in any major city in the region and are a recommended way to get around if you find yourself on any of the barrier islands.
Biking in Inland Georgia
There are plenty of biking opportunities inland, nearer to Atlanta and Athens, and there are also numerous flat bike trails in the Golden Isles area.
For the truly experienced biker on vacation in Georgia, head to the Georgia International Horse Park, the first Olympic mountain biking course in the world. Developed for the 1996 Atlanta Summer Olympics, the Georgia International Horse Park will push your biking skills to the limit. It's truly an endurance test, as the trail rises for over eight miles, climbing over 1,000 feet before leveling out. Located 28 miles east of Atlanta in the suburb of Conyers, the Georgia International Horse Park biking trail is a world-class biking destination.
Yellow River Park in Stone Mountain has 10 miles of single-track loop trails. These trails see a lot of traffic and cross paths in a few places with the separate equestrian paths also in the area. The trails can be found off of the West Park Place exit on U.S. Highway 78.
The Heritage Park Trail in Athens is a great five-mile single-track loop that riders of all skill levels can tackle. The trail crosses several creeks and also includes a few fast downhill sections. To get there, look for Heritage Park, about 10 miles south of Watkinsville on State Road 441.
You can bike around the back roads of southeast Georgia for days, over the gently-rolling hills. There's one bike trail in the Okefenokee Swamp that's particularly interesting: Swamp Island Drive, in the Suwannee Canal Recreation Area, eight miles southwest of Fulkston, on the eastern side of the swamp.
Biking on the Georgia Coast
Down around Brunswick and the Golden Isles, there are hundreds of miles of off-road biking trails, paved pathways, and scenic country roads to choose from. These vary in skill level from beginner to advanced. Best of all, many of these trails traverse the “uncharted” territories of the islands (or, at the very least, the areas that are inaccessible to automobiles), and pass scenic secluded beaches.
Jekyll Island boasts particularly scenic bike paths, which travel the island's shores through marshes and forests along the oceanfront. Ride carefully, though, as some tree roots stick out just enough to cause a tumble. In many places it's single-file biking only. There are strategically-placed benches and picnic tables throughout. There is also a 20-minute double-track loop on the southwest side of the island.
St. Simons Island also contains pleasant single-track trails. St. Simons is the most developed of the Golden Isles, but it's also one of the largest, and you can pedal around inland lakes, golf courses, and the residential area.
Biking in South Carolina
The coast of South Carolina offers bikers uninhibited views of beautiful coastal scenery as well as great trails to bike around on. Charleston, in particular, is a biker's paradise. The urban area is relatively void of traffic congestion and the region is pretty flat, so pedaling around this area is a popular activity not only for the out-of-towners but also for the locals. Check out these easy picturesque routes:
- One of the best trails is a rail trail on the West Ashley Greenway, a there-and-back 10.5-mile trail on mostly hard-packed dirt. It parallels Savannah Highway, or State Road 17, starting at Main Road and ending on James Island.
- Another route starts in Charleston's downtown district and ends up on Folly Island. On the tip of the Charleston peninsula, take South Battery Boulevard to State Road 30, or the James Island Expressway. Be mindful here of cars, though as expressways go, this isn't a well-used one. The expressway goes over the Ashley River via the Robert Scarborough Bridge, to Central Park Road, to Riverland Drive. Along Riverland Drive you pass James Island County Park. Finally you reach Folly Road, which takes you to the island, an inhabited barrier island. The island is filled with estuaries and many kinds of birds and wildlife.
Just north of Charleston, The Swamp Fox Trail is roughly 27 miles on a hard dirt surface that winds its way through the Francis Marion National Forest. As it follows an abandoned railroad line, the trail is very flat, and therefore suitable for all levels. So that you can sound smart to your bike-mates, Francis Marion was a Revolutionary War hero, and the British called him the Swamp Fox for his military tactics. The Hollywood movie “The Patriot,” starring Mel Gibson, is partly based on this historical folk-hero. Now you know.
Hilton Head is a great place for biking, as there are over 25 miles of bike paths across the island and even one that directly parallels U.S. Highway 278. The bike paths ramble all around the island's sounds and marshes. Also, in addition to bike paths, the sandy beaches of Hilton Head are firm and strong enough to support cyclists who wish to ride along the edges of the ocean waters.
North of Hilton Head, via U.S. Highway 21 from Port Royal or Beaufort, is another biker's haven - Hunting Island, one of South Carolina's most popular State Parks. The island got its name for all the hunting that used to go on, but nowadays it is a wildlife preserve in its entirety. A ride on a bike, along the many bluffs or otherwise, can yield views of deer and raccoons, loggerhead turtles, alligators, diamondback rattlesnakes, herons, and egrets.
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