The timestamp is only as accurate as the clock in the camera, and it may be completely wrong. Many of the workers lived in housing on top of Stumphouse mountain called Tunnel Hill. Construction on Stumphouse tunnel began in 1856 when the George Collyer Company of London brought many Irish workers into the area for this project. If the file has been modified from its original state, some details such as the timestamp may not fully reflect those of the original file. There Stumphouse tunnel along with three other tunnels was to be built. The park also has a nice picnic area.This file contains additional information such as Exif metadata which may have been added by the digital camera, scanner, or software program used to create or digitize it. to sunset, except on Christmas and during inclement weather. Located 7 miles northwest of Walhalla on Highway 28, Stumphouse Tunnel Park is open from 10 a.m. (Photo by Jeff Samsel) A short easy walk leads in Stumphouse Tunnel Park leads to a platform that provides a great view of Issaqueena falls. Past the platform, an unofficial but heavily traveled trail allows for a steep descent to a flat area at the base of the 100-foot main drop for an up-close vantage.Īsher and Eli Samsel enjoy an up close and personal look at Issaqueena Falls. The creek drops 100 feet over an almost vertical edge, with just enough ledges breaking its fall to spread the flow into a complex and striking veil.įollowing the footpath across a small bridge leads to an easy downhill walk to a platform that provides an outstanding view of the falls. (Photo by Jeff Samsel)Ī short walk away from the tunnel, small and nondescript-seeming Cane Creek suddenly plunges into a gorge to form beautiful Issaqueena Falls. On the way out, you can just walk toward the light.Ī gentle, cool breeze comes out of the entrance of the Stumphouse Tunnel at all times. That said, enough natural light creeps in to sort of see once eyes adjust, and exploring without the aid of a flashlight is kind of cool. There are no artificial lights, so phone flashlights get used a lot. An air shaft just past the gate creates a constant cool breeze coming out of the tunnel and condensation, which keeps the tunnel floor moist. However, a locked gate prohibits travel past about halfway for safety reasons. The tunnel, which is 17 feet wide and 25 feet tall, is 1,617 feet long. The boys also spent at least a half hour flipping rocks in a tumbling tributary of the main stream, catching crawfish and seeing what kinds of aquatic insects were under rocks.Ī dead-end tunnel cut into a mountainside that was part of an abandoned railroad project, the Stumphouse Tunnel was created in the 1850s. Stumphouse Tunnel was a major tunnel needed to complete a rail line from the South Carolina port city of Charleston to 'the West. If you are coming from the Asheville area, take I-26 east towards South Carolina. The splendor of the falls exceeded what I had remembered, and the tunnel, which had been closed last time I was there and only visible from the outside at that time, turned out to be super fun to explore. Directions: Stumphouse Tunnel Park is about 7 miles west of Walhalla, SC on SC28. What I’d expected be a half hour stop for quick looks at a couple of features turned into more than two hours of fun discovery. It connects Stumphouse Park to Oconee State Park. The park is also home to the 1.5-mile Stumphouse Passage and the new 5-mile Ross Mountain Passage, the Upstate end of the nearly 500-mile cross-state Palmetto Trail. It has filled with water over the years and is no longer accessible. The park is pretty close to Walhalla, and we had time, so we made a detour. The Saddleback Tunnel can be found at the end of the trail. Until a couple of weeks ago, I’d forgotten just how just how cool South Carolina’s Stumphouse Tunnel Park is. I was in Walhalla with two of my boys and had just finished a round of disc golf when it struck me that they might like to explore the park’s namesake tunnel and to see Issaquena Falls, which is in the same park. There are no artificial lights inside the tunnel, but on the way out you can just walk toward the light.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |