The T
rails That Bind Us
by Joan Collar
K
iawah means many things to many people,
but one of the things that makes Kiawah so
special to all of us is its unsurpassed natural beauty.
There are the wonderful live oaks with their
outstretched arms laden with Spanish moss, the
rustling palmettos, the wax myrtle, the holly, the
magnolia, the pine, the cedar, to mention some of the
trees. There are the many grasses including sweet
grass, spartina and sea oats. There is the sweet,
pungent smell of the pluff mud in the ever-changing
tidal marshes filled with oysters, clams, crabs, shrimp
and fish. In and around the lagoons, there are fish,
birds and alligators. The wilderness areas have
an abundance of deer, bobcats and other wildlife.
The beautiful Atlantic Ocean and the Kiawah River
astound us with their many shore birds, dolphins
and myriad sea shells. And lest we forget, one of the
loveliest, unspoiled beaches in the world borders our
southern shores. We are truly blessed to have all of
this surrounding us on a daily basis. As most of us
know, one of the best ways to see all of this beauty
is by bike. We have more than 20 miles of bike trails
on Kiawah. Most of the trails are on the Island itself
and are managed by the Kiawah Island Community
Association (KICA). Our newest, and very popular
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trail, is the one going to Freshsfields Village,
managed by the Town of Kiawah Island.
As these 20-plus miles of bike trails
wind around the Island, you travel under canopies
of trees, through unique neighborhoods, into
unspoiled maritime forests, over wooden bridges,
down beach boardwalks, by lagoons and to
three towers where you can stop and savor the
incredible views. These towers are the Marsh View
Tower on Marsh Hawk Lane that overlooks the
Kiawah River, the Marsh Island Park Tower off of
Governors Drive that overlooks the tidal marshes
and hummocks and the Blue Heron Pond Tower
in The Preserve that overlooks Blue Heron Pond.
As one travels these bike trails there are also a few
benches, including memorial benches, scattered
around for those who wish to stop and enjoy the
moment or, heaven forbid, to rest.
A special feature here on Kiawah is the
opportunity to bike along the 10-mile stretch of
hard-packed sand of the Kiawah Island beach.
This, of course, is a bonus and not included in the
aforementioned 20 miles of bike trails.
There is an opportunity for everyone to
become active in the maintenance of these trails.
There is a program called Adopt-a-Trail. Although
most people are courteous and mindful of not
throwing garbage along the trails, there are some
violators. Volunteers with this program assume
responsibility for monitoring small sections of
the trails and clearing trash and debris. Please call
Dave Achey at 843-768-2315 extension 252 to
volunteer in this endeavor. Dave is KICA’s Land
Management Director and the keeper of the bike
trails. We thank him for maintaining our wonderful
bike trails. He asks us to be observant trail
travelers and report any missing plaques and trail
obstructions.
Hop on a bike. Natural habitat adventures
are around every curve of the bike trail. n
Photographs courtesy of Pamela Cohen,
Joan Collar, Justin Core and Jamie Rood.