Because of these challenging aspects of the trail, I don't go out without my helmet and wrist, elbow and knee guards. Again, knowing how to stop quickly and safely is needed. Some of these roads are busy and for some you don't have visibility until you hit the crossing. The ups are a great workout, and the downs require the ability to control yourself on skates, and to slow and stop yourself safely. There are long gradual gradients and shorter sharper gradients. For non-skaters, a trail covered in leaves, twigs and stones is almost impossible to use on skates. I find that the trail itself is kept pretty clean throughout the year (thank you to the caretakers). The trail is wider than the Swamp Rabbit and the paving is new and pretty solid. All and all, however, it was a nice ride and was a great way to finish off my visit to the area.Īs an inline-skater, runner and cyclist, I use this trail at least once a week and I love it. Since it adjoins some people's back yards the main things I had to watch out for were PETS! Maybe it was as much due to of the time of day as anything else, but I encountered two tiny kittens playing on the path, three full grown cats, and a small dog. The trail joins two small towns so I encountered only a couple of crossings with any traffic to speak of. Hills are long and very gradual and while they gave me a good workout, they shouldn't pose a problem for someone in good physical condition riding a multi-speed bike (if you don't have a multi-speed bike or are just an occasional cyclist they will pose a challenge). The path otherwise is well maintained and kept clean. Storms had hit the area the night before so there was still some minor tree debris on the path but nothing that affected my ride. If it weren't almost dark by the time I finished I would have happily ridden it again. I rode from the new Easley Doodle Park out to the other end and back which was a little over 15 miles. Since this was closer to where I was staying than the longer Swamp Rabbit Trail, and didn't have much time left in the day to ride before dusk anyway I chose to ride this trail instead and wasn't disappointed. I was visiting the area and while I would not make a special trip just to ride this trail, It was definitely worth my time while I was here to ride it. Future plans call for the trailhead to include a park and picnic area. In Easley, the trailhead is located at Fleetwood Drive, about a half mile from downtown. It sits where the Pickens Depot once stood and, in the future, may include an information center, railroad museum, and plaza. In Pickens, the trailhead is located at State 8 and East Cedar Rock Road, just a block from downtown. Parking and Trail AccessĪ trailhead is provided at each end of the trail with parking and portable toilets. The railway began passenger and freight service in 1898 and was called the “Doodle” because it ran backwards like a doodlebug between Pickens and Easley due to its inability to turn around. The paved trail follows the former Doodle Line railroad for just over 8 miles and includes two wooden bridges. The Doodle Rail Trail connects the towns of Easley and Pickens in the northwestern corner of South Carolina.
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