Stevens Creek offers trove of rare plants
Why would anyone from the Lowcountry want to visit Stevens Creek Heritage Preserve and spend a day paddling Stevens Creek?
“That's simple.” Chad Quinn, owner of Cloudfire Outfitters said, “Diversity. “Stevens Creek Heritage Preserve offers a glimpse of 15 rare plants species and the endangered Webster's salamander. The month of May is a busy time for Stevens Creek.
Visitors travel from all over the state to catch a glimpse of these rare plants in bloom. We stood in his shop in the lakeside town of Modoc just a few minutes northeast of Augusta and prepared to embark on a day of kayaking on nearby Stevens Creek.
Cloudfire Outfitters is located 30 seconds away from Stevens Creek and 45 seconds away from Clarks Hill Lake, one of the most-visited Corps of Engineers lakes in the nation. Stevens Creek Heritage Preserve harbors a wealth of biological information, a unique ecosystem and an opportunity to paddle river rapids – and is all just over two hours from Bluffton.
Stevens Creek Heritage Preserve is managed by South Carolina Department of Natural Resources and is located between Edgefield, S.C., and and Augusta Ga., along the banks of Turkey and Stevens Creeks.
In 1957 it was identified by botanists as containing extremely rare and unique plants, including several not found anywhere else in South Carolina. What’s more, at the foot of rolling red Piedmont hills and within sight of the sandy Lowcountry, Stevens Creek Heritage Preserve blends landscapes to provide an ecosystem that combines mountain and coastal plants. Bald cypress grows along rocky banks that contain laurel and other plants only found in the mountains.
A visit to Stevens Creek Heritage Preserve is a visit to a land that time forgot or one that is seemingly at odds or in perfect harmony with the surrounding country.
Recently I spent the day in Stevens Creek Heritage Preserve paddling Turkey and Stevens Creeks with several friends. We met up with Chad Quinn at his newly opened outfitter store in Modoc near the take out. We put in at Key Bridge on Turkey Creek and began an eight mile paddle that would become unforgettable. Almost immediately, we encountered small or “Class I” rapids. We navigated these easily and enjoyed a whitewater thrill almost impossible to encounter in the lazy Lowcountry.
Cypress trees lined rocky banks, turtles sunned themselves on logs and noisy kingfishers darted overhead.
In all, we encountered over half a dozen low rapids during our day on the water and enjoyed a world seemingly from another, more ancient age unfolding before us.
Stevens Creek Heritage Preserve offers a fascinating glimpse at a world unseen in the Lowcountry and with its closeness to home and accessibility, one that we will return to experience again.
Bluffton resident Matt Richardson enjoys taking day trips with his family and exploring the Lowcountry. To see more pictures from his adventures, go to www.Flickr.com and search on the username “greenkayak73.” He can be reached at greenkayak73@gmail.com.
Getting There:
Stevens Creek Heritage Preserve is a little more than 2½ hours from Bluffton and located near Modoc between Edgefield, S.C., and Augusta Ga. Getting there is easy by highway travel and if well-planned, this paddling trip can be done in a single day. The route I chose from Bluffton was S.C. 321 north to Estill and then S.C. 3 to S.C. 125. This will take you through the Savannah River Site. Follow SC 28 through Augusta to Modoc .
For more information on Stevens Creek Heritage Preserve, contact SCDNR at 864-654-1671.
Hiking Stevens Creek Heritage Preserve
Not interested in paddling Stevens Creek Heritage Preserve? The traditional method of encountering this unique ecosystem is to hike one of the many trails that explore the reaches of its 434 wooded acres. Named for the creek that lines its border, itself named for a colonial cattle drover named John Stevens who claimed the area in 1715, Stevens Creek Heritage Preserve is an oasis of history and natural wonder as the landscape falls toward the sea. Renowned botanist Albert E. Radford first noted the unique life in 1957 and his work documented several species of plant previously not encountered in South Carolina.
From the trailhead on S.C. 23 at Modoc Bridge, the 1.3 mile loop path will take you along hardwood ridges, pine uplands and rocky creek banks that evoke a sense of an Appalachian mountain cove or river gorge. You will encounter different species of trillium, mountain laurel on ridge sides and even jack-in-the-pulpit along marshy reaches in the bottoms. Wild turkey, deer, migratory birds and other forest creatures abound.
Go to www.sctrails.net/trails/ALLTRAILS/hiking/Midlands/StevensCrkHP.html
This story was originally published May 2, 2016 at 6:09 AM with the headline "Stevens Creek offers trove of rare plants."