Saluda River Gorge
Location: Keeler Bridge Road, Travelers Rest, SC
Size: 225 acres
Habitat: Rolling hills, river, rapids
Public Use: day use, hiking only
Partners: Easley Combined Utilities, SC Conservation Bank, Save Our Saluda
Year Protected: 2020
Naturaland Trust has worked for decades to protect the North, South, and Middle Saluda Rivers along their course before their convergence at Saluda Lake in Greenville County. Many of these properties have become popular trout fishing, paddling, and hiking destinations while protecting source water for both Greenville and the people of Easley. The protection of the Greenville Watershed, spearheaded by our founder Tommy Wyche, has endowed Greenville with some of the highest quality water in the country and has enabled the municipality to grow, knowing that its citizens’ drinking water is secure. We now have the opportunity to help the community of Easley secure key tracts of land for source water protection while also opening new avenues for public recreation and innovative conservation partnerships. The 225-acre Saluda River Gorges property is situated approximately 7 miles upstream of Saluda Lake, between the North and South Saluda Rivers. The property is a mixed mature forest on relatively steep land with a small patch of planted pine.
With guidance from Save Our Saluda, we looked for the right property to start this initiative. Below the Table Rock and Poinsett Reservoir, however, is the watershed that feeds Saluda Lake and the intake for Easley. The 225-ace property is situated approximately 7 miles upstream of the Saluda Lake between the North and South Saluda Rivers. It includes ~11,000 feet of frontage on the North Saluda River (which forms the eastern boundary) and ~4,000 feet on the South Saluda River (which forms the southwest boundary), along with interior streams and floodplains. The rivers tumble over boulders, forming rapids and a gorgeous blueway in a gorge-like setting, ideal for paddlers, anglers, and water-based recreation.
Much of the watershed area above Saluda Lake is situated between the rapidly growing areas of Greenville and Easley. The majority of these tracts remain unprotected and vulnerable to land transition to higher-impact land use. Development pressures in this high-growth area will onlyincrease in the future, threatening source water areas and drinking water quality and supply. Fortunately, with this property, Easley Combined Utilities (ECU) stepped in and purchased the property with the understanding that Naturaland Trust would raise the funds to buy the land and protect it forever. In April of 2020, with funding from the SC Conservation Bank and a $250,000 donation via bargain sale from Easley Combined Utilities, Naturaland Trust closed on the property. ECU’s proactive attitude to protect source water is one we hope will become a model for other utilities around the State.
