Kiawah’s New Biking Frontier From The Ocean Course to Freshfields Village

For years visitors and residents of Kiawah Island have treasured the Island’s miles of bike trails that wind through neighborhoods and maritime forest, around marsh and wetlands, from the main gate all the way to The Ocean Course. The paths provide a pleasant route for exercise, and offer an easy, nature-infused way to get to the pool, the beach, the store, and more. Recognizing the value of this favorite Island feature, the Kiawah Island Town Council has developed a plan to improve the Parkway and add a bike path all the way to Freshfields, making the route safer, easier to use, and even more attractive.

Although bike paths have long been a part of Kiawah, the trails have ended at the main gate – and except perhaps for those who wanted to fish the Kiawah River, most bikers didn’t need to venture further. Now with shopping, banking, and dining available just off-Island, the time for a path extension has arrived.

“We need a Parkway path for several reasons,” says Town Council member Steve Orban, chairman of the Public Works and Public Safety Committee, and the member in charge of managing the Parkway project. “First, of course, is public safety. But our goal is to create a path that’s also convenient – one on which even inexperienced bikers can ride all the way to Freshfields Village from almost anywhere on the Island.” At present, only experienced cyclists with permits are allowed to ride on the Parkway.

The bike path improvements have been three years in the planning, not least because of the need to minimize the path’s impact on the marsh alongside the route. Although the original plans called for the path’s edge to lie a full ten feet from the roadway, planners soon realized that path construction would impinge on three acres of marshland. By designing the roadway to include safety curbs, planners were able to place the bike path just five feet from the roadway, impacting a much smaller 1.3 acres of marsh. (Note: KRA has contributed a strip of high land to be converted to marsh to offset the bike path’s impingement on marsh affected by it). Along the Parkway, the bike paths themselves will be eight feet wide, and will include a new bridge just for bikes across the Kiawah River. The paths will also include irrigation for landscaping along both sides of the route.

In addition to the paths, roadway work will include raising the road grade in select places, softening some of the sharp curves, and lengthening the approach to the main gate – a welcome change that will give residents and Island employees an easier route to bypass visitors who are checking in. In making these changes, the Town Council has sought to dovetail road and bike path construction. “By coordinating the paths and the road work,” Orban explains, “the Town Council has been able to save an appreciable amount of money on both projects.”

The Town Council plans to place the construction work out for bid this summer, with completion expected in time for the 2009 spring season. Kiawah Development has begun to build a bike path at Cassique that will tie into the Town’s path, giving riders a wider selection of routes along which to enjoy Nature’s beauty.

The beauty, of course, remains a key feature of the bike paths’ popularity for vacationers and residents alike. Rolling along under a bright blue sky, face cooled by a gentle sea breeze, a rider absorbs Kiawah’s lush landscape through every sense. The bike paths offer a pleasurable way to move from place to place, encouraging less traffic and more protection of Kiawah’s lovely environment.

What keeps the bike paths a pleasure to use? A group of volunteers. “We’re very grateful to the people who participate in the Kiawah Island Community Association’s Adopt-a-Trail program,” says Dave Achey, KICA Director of Land Management. “With 25 miles of paths behind the main gate, 33 beach access points, and two miles of beach access areas that link the trails with the roadways, we depend on our volunteers to ensure the system remains easy, accessible, and safe.”

When the Parkway bike path is completed, kids of all ages and bikers of every skill level will be able to cycle with confidence to virtually any spot in the Kiawah community.

To volunteer for the Adopt-a-Trail program, contact the Kiawah Island Community Association at 843-768-2314.