New Go Paddle website is live - June 28th 2017

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Upstate Forever has officially launched GoPaddleSC.com, which features an interactive map of blueways in South Carolina. The site allows users to easily search for a water adventure based on criteria such as skill level, location, and duration of trip. The online map includes listings of trips ideas and waterways across South Carolina as well as resources that will help paddlers navigate such as coastal tides and river flow gauges. The website will be updated with additional content on a regular basis and currently includes descriptions of 63 waterways, 108 trip listings, 390 points of interest, and 612 river accesses. 

To commemorate the initiative and encourage increased use of local natural resources via the new website, Governor Henry McMaster proclaimed July as the official Paddle Month in South Carolina. The proclamation was read aloud at the launch event by Major Jamie Landrum of the South Carolina Department of Natural Resources (SCDNR). Other speakers for the event included representatives from Upstate Forever, Palmetto Conservation, the Callie and John Rainey Foundation, SCDNR, and the town of Lockhart.  

The Paddle SC website is a part of Upstate Forever’s four-year “Reconnecting People to Rivers” initiative and was developed in partnership with the South Carolina Department of Natural Resources, the South Carolina National Heritage Corridor, and Palmetto Conservation along with the assistance of many organizations.

"Today, we're delighted to unveil the statewide map and share some exciting accomplishments that we've achieved with the help of over 150 stakeholders" said Heather Nix, Clean Water Director at Upstate Forever.  

Upstate Forever also unveiled the Broad River Blueway map and the Twelve Mile River Blueway map, the fifth and sixth map to be printed out of a planned series of ten waterproof blueway maps. The maps are available free of charge at Upstate Forever’s Greenville and Spartanburg offices, local bookstores, and local outdoor outfitters. Downloadable map versions are available at both the Upstate Forever and Paddle SC websites.  

For more information, contact Katie Hottel, GIS Coordinator, at khottel@upstateforever.org.