The Conestee Foundation officially opened Lake Conestee Nature Park to the public on October 28, 2006. The Phase I Trail System will be used for hiking, biking, and wildlife watching. Lake Conestee Nature Park will eventually act as the southern “hub” of the developing Swamp Rabbit Greenway Trail.
The Phase I system of trails consists of approximately 2.1 miles of natural surface trails and 650 linear feet of boardwalks. It was completed in May 2006. It is estimated that over 300 persons visited the park and hiked the trails and boardwalks during the first 10 days that the park was open. Construction of this trail system was made possible by a grant from the SC Department of Parks, Recreation and Tourism.
The Conestee Foundation marked the opening of a new paved greenway trail through the Lake Conestee Nature Park with a ribbon cutting on Monday, June 18, 2007. Jeff Beacham, executive director of the Conestee Foundation, noted that “this trail will provide excellent access to the park for everyone, and we are looking forward to connecting to the rest of the Reedy River greenway trails.”
Construction of the 2/3-mile long trail was completed in May 2007, and the trail connects the park access on Fork Shoals Road with the access on Henderson Avenue. The paved trail serves as a spine and provides connections to the natural surface trails in the park, and will ultimately connect to the Reedy River greenway trail system. The trail is open to bicycles and pedestrians; motorized vehicles are prohibited. Paved handicapped parking spaces are provided on both ends of the trail. The trail is generally handicapped accessible, but does have a few long, moderate slopes that could be difficult to climb for some manual wheelchair users and for some powered wheelchairs.
Greenville County and Conestee Foundation jointly provided local matching funds necessary to secure a Transportation Enhancement Program grant through SC Department of Transportation and Federal Highway Administration. Greenville County Planning Department obtained and administered the grant funds for the project. Additional funding for this section of the Lake Conestee Nature Park was provided by SC Conservation Bank, Graham Foundation, John I. Smith Foundation, and Duke Energy.