Friends introduce the New Downtown Beaufort Connector and National Kids in Parks Designation
Depot Trailhead
The Friends of the Spanish Moss Trail, Beaufort County and the City of Beaufort will host a grand opening to celebrate two important milestones on Thursday, February 12 at 11:00am inside the iconic Depot Building at the Spanish Moss Trail Depot Trailhead. First, the opening of the Spanish Moss Trail’s Downtown Beaufort Connector and second, the opening of the new national designation of becoming a Kids in Parks TRACK Trail.
“The new Downtown Beaufort Connector will formally link the County-owned Spanish Moss Trail to Beaufort’s historic Bay Street,” said Dean Moss, Volunteer Executive Director of the Friends of the Spanish Moss Trail. “With more than 100,000 people enjoying the Spanish Moss Trail each year, we expect this new wide path to be very popular and allow Trail users and downtown Beaufort patrons to easily move between these two important areas.”
This Downtown Beaufort Connector is within the City of Beaufort and was constructed by Beaufort County with funding from both entities. It starts at the Trail’s Depot Trailhead, goes down Depot Road, and crosses pedestrians and cyclists at the light on Ribaut Road onto Bay Street.
“We are also looking forward to celebrating becoming a Kids in Parks TRACK Trail,” said Moss. “We are grateful for our partnership with the City of Beaufort to make this area so dynamic for children.”
Kids in Parks is a nation-wide designation by the Blue Ridge Parkway Foundation and funded in South Carolina by the BlueCross BlueShield of South Carolina Foundation. This Spanish Moss Trail TRACK Trail will start at the Depot Trailhead, with a large kiosk and children’s activity brochures, and extend along the Trail toward Port Royal for about a mile.
“Starting at this popular Depot Trailhead, families and school groups can also enjoy the StoryWalk provided by the Friends of the Beaufort Library and Beaufort County Library, grab a book at the new mini library for children created by student artist E Achurch, and skip through the Depot Building to start their adventure towards the Mather Trestle fishing pier,” said Sissy Perryman, Friends of the Spanish Moss Trail Director of Advancement.
Kids in Parks began on the Blue Ridge Parkway, developed by the Blue Ridge Parkway Foundation in partnership with the National Park Service and the Blue Cross Blue Shield of North Carolina Foundation. As the program demonstrated easy implementation and effectiveness in getting children outdoors, Kids in Parks has rapidly expanded to other parks and public lands across the country.
To learn more about the Spanish Moss Trail visit SpanishMossTrail.com
To learn more about TRACK Trails visit KidsinParks.com.
