Edwin M. Griffin Nature Preserve
Home of the Cottonwood Trail

SPACE has completed the restoration of the Cottonwood Trail Boardwalk! Thank you to our sponsors, individual donors and team for making this 550ft traverse across our pristine wetlands an opportunity for the community to enjoy for years to come. 

SPACE’s first project was the Cottonwood Trail Preserve, currently a 116-acre urban preserve and trail system. Located minutes from downtown Spartanburg, the property protects a 1.5 mile stretch of Lawson’s Fork Creek and several feeder streams. The preserve serves as an important water quality buffer in a fast-growing region and provides habitat for a myriad of plants and animals.

Over 4 miles of trails offer runners and naturalists a break from city traffic. It provides a place for citizens to run, walk, kayak, canoe, and to enjoy other recreational outings. This urban greenspace has many unique and outstanding features including several wetlands, open spaces, geological formations, and offers habitat for deer, wild turkey, fox, beaver, raccoon, numerous birds and reptiles, wildflowers, and trees.

SPACE is responsible for managing the trails at Griffin Preserve. As part of that effort, we use TRAFx trail counters to gather data on pedestrian and bicycle use of the trail—this data is helpful for grants and other fundraising opportunities to assist SPACE in seeking trail management resources. If you happen to notice one of these small devices on the trail, please leave it alone. Thank you!

Preserve Rules:

• Preserve is open from dawn to dusk.
• Place litter in trashcans or pack it out.
• No motorized vehicles.
• No hunting.
• No camping.
• No campfires.
• No firearms.
• No paintball.
• No climbing on bridges.
• No cutting of flowers, trees, plants.
• Pets must remain on a leash under owner’s control.
• Swim at your own risk- shoes required.

Location:

The Cottonwood Trail is located near McCracken Middle School along Lawson’s Fork Creek. It can be accessed off of Beechwood Drive, Woodburn Road, or below the tennis courts at McCracken Middle School.