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Tags:
Level: Intermediate
Length: 5 mi (8 km)
Surface: Singletrack
Configuration: Network
Elevation: +550/ -540 ft
Total: 57 riders
Mountain Biking Fant's Grove (or Twin Lakes)
#35 of 115 mountain bike trails in South Carolina
Well just ride out there and you will see lots of trails leaving the road. just take one and see where it leads you.
First added by searsandrewj on Jan 1, 2003. Last updated Apr 30, 2020. → add an update
Before you go
- Drinking water: unknown
- Lift service: unknown
- Night riding: unknown
- Pump track: unknown
- Restrooms: unknown
- Fat bike grooming: unknown
- E-bikes allowed: unknown
- Fee required: unknown
This trail information is user-generated. Help improve this information by suggesting a correction.
"Leave Clemson's campus on old cherry road (bisecting the golf course at perimeter road). Go up long hill curving to the left. Just beyond the apex, turn right. I forget the street name but there is a sign pointing to twin lakes). Admire cows in field at left. Take first left (about 1/4 mile) and cross rail road tracks. The road curves left and passes a coal pile (the start of the Tuesday Time trial for roadies). follow this road along the lake and up the hill...1) To the top of the hill. You will see a trail on your right snaking its way up into the woods. 2) Or stay on the road for another 1/4 mile and you will see a small parking area on the right and a cable barrier just beyond at the head of a doubletrack fire-road. Three good trails start (or end) on this dirt road. 3) Or stay on the road for another mile toward the boat landing. You will come to a an intersection with a stop sign, veer right uphill. Just past the cemetary (on left at the "t" intersection) the cow pastures end and you will see trail heads at left and right.
Trail is in great shape right now. Some sandy sections are getting a little sugary, but it's all very rideable and very flowy.
| ThankThe Lake Trail portion remains in good shape and fun. The trail going out to the rifle range is finally open again after some serious logging. It's not the best connector trail through the logged area, but as it gets ridden in, it will get better. At least we can now get in the full 14.5 mi perimeter loop route again. That is a great ride.
| ThankThe trails are normally great with a lot of fun, fast, flowy singletrack. On Jan 16th, however, some recent horse rides on wet days have made a muddy mess of the trails. Some nearby logging has also cut off a few trails. Give it a week to dry out and it will be better.
| ThankA well maintained, well marked trail. Probably more on the easy side of intermediate. Trail is a lot of fun and true cross country mounting. Hills are not too severe and pace can be maintained. Be sure to watch ahead for horses and trail muffins...and note that the blue trail is much less maintained and used and markers are hard to find at times.
| ThankGreat old school trails! There are over 25 miles of trails in the Fants Grove system. These trails are not as well marked or maintained as other local trails, but I can definitley recommend these trails. There is a good amount of single track available without having to ride fire roads between trails.
| ThankFun, old school single track. Better during the week, than the weekends.
| ThankGreat beginner Trails, heavily shared with the equestrian community, I would say at least as much horseback riding as MTB, maybe more... but riders are welcome and the trails are fun!
| ThankWas not a big fan of these trails. The day I went the horses had made a mess of the trail and there were parts of the ride that were unridable. Watch out for downhill sections. No banks on the turns and the horses cause everything to wash out. Also make sure you bring a map. It's very hard to find the trail at parts because they all break off from each other. That said I would absolutely go back and ride there again. The green trail is a good beginner trail, you just have to stop a few times to get over obstacles caused by horses.
| ThankWhat a treasure Fant's Grove is. I have ridden it extensively and as other reviewers have mentioned it has a variety of terrain from sweet flowy singletrack to wide open fire roads. It's not a technical as Issaqueena north of Clemson, but for fun intermediate terrain and extensive continuous loops, it wins out in my opinion.
Horses are around and they can leave the trails in a mess. I find that if you avoid riding after a heavy rain, you can pound right through the horse trodden areas without too many problems. I always try to dismount when I come across horses. The horse folks appreciate this and it's just good manners in this shared area. That said, I have only seen horses twice in dozens of rides, though I will say that I mostly ride after work on weekdays.
Back to the trails. My favorite loop by far is the Green Triangle loop (reference map linked in the last post). There is a great mile or two along the lake with nice views and nice fast single track. Take the map because it can get confusing with all the trails leading all over the place.
In my opinion, the best place to start is from the Butch Kennedy Trailhead off of Woodburn Rd. Three of the four loops intersect here and there is plenty of parking.
| ThankThe location of the trail maps from the Clemson University website has changed: http://www.clemson.edu/cafls/cef/documents/Trail_Loops_revised_nov21.pdf
You can always go to clemson.edu at search for "Fant's Grove Trail" for the latest.
| ThankHere is a link to get a map of the area. As you can see there are a lot of trails to explore.
http://www.clemson.edu/cafls/departments/forestry/cef/documents/fants_grove_map.pdf
| Thank