It’ll take only about a two hour road trip for you to capture your next Instagram-worthy moment.
Stumphouse Park in Walhalla, South Carolina, is home to two places that will make the perfect photos to share online and — more important — some great stories to share with friends.
If dark, cave-like spaces pique your interest in exploring, the Stumphouse Tunnel has to be your first stop.
Built with hand tools ahead of the Civil War, the project went unfinished. It was an attempt to join the port of Charleston to Midwestern cities by train, according to the South Carolina tourism website. Cut into the southeast face of Stumphouse Mountain, it is the largest of three uncompleted railroad tunnels begun before the war by the Blue Ridge Rail Road. Approximately 1,500 Irish miners cut through the mountain using hammers, chisels and other tools. By 1859, work ceased after the state Legislature refused to fund more construction.
About a quarter-mile of the tunnel is open to the public. It also maintains a temperature of 50 degrees for the entire year. The coolness provides for a simple hike fit for the whole family, according to Oconee, S.C.’s tourism website.
There’s also photographic proof of that. Parents have taken smiley snapshots posing with their little ones just outside the tunnel.
For those hoping for a wetter experience, the Issaqueena Falls is nearby, although Oconee, S.C.’s tourism website describes it as “a bit of a distance” to walk from the tunnel to the falls.
“You may want to drive a short ways to the other parking area. To see Issaqueena Falls, it is an easy 1/4 mile walk from the parking lot to an observation deck. There is a rough trail from the lowest observation deck, but the path is quite dangerous and visitors are not encouraged to take it,” the website states.
The 200-foot waterfall is tied to legend. The story goes that Issaqueena, described on the South Carolina tourism website as an “Indian maiden,” rode to a fort close by to “warn of a pending Indian attack and then escaped pursuing Indians by pretending to leap over the falls, but actually hiding beneath them.”
A hike lets visitors reach the top of the falls. They can also take a detour along a short path to get a huge, scenic view.
DETAILS Stumphouse Park: Stumphouse Tunnel Road, Walhalla, SC
Park entrance fee is $5 per vehicle. Annual pass is $35 for non-residents of Oconee County
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