Seizing the Dream: Hiking Billy Dreher Nature Trail

This is a short nature trail (about a half mile round trip) on the western side of Dreher Island State Park.

The trail starts right next the the community center on White Oak Lane, and heads to the south west. After about 800 feet, there will be sign by the trail that identifies the location of the Billy Dreher Home Site and identifies Billy as the former owner of the property that is now Dreher Island State Park.

Just to the east of the sign, the chimney of the old homesite sits in a small small clearing. The chimney has two hearths, so it must have sat in the middle of the house – the side that faces the trail still has a metal bar running across the top of the opening that might have been used to hold cooking pots. The rear side is more overgrown with vines, but can still be clearly seen. This side does not have a bar for holding anything above the fire, so it may have faced a living area or bedroom. It’s interesting to note that while the chimney is made up of mostly local stones, there is a fair amount of bricks that are also used in the construction.

A little further along on the trail there is a section of beach with a lot of shells. Based on what I’ve seen on many of my Florida hikes, it is possible that this is an ancient shell midden. This area of South Carolina has many archeological digs, but I couldn’t find very much specific to the area around Lake Murray, so it is difficult to be sure.

This is a nice little spot for a walk by the lake and it has a little history to boot. At a little less than a half mile round trip (and very little elevation change) it’s a nice walk through the woods that is suitable for all skill levels.

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