My company has offices in both places, and I have my choice of which I want to go to. My question is - which place has the best opportunity for trail riding? I know about private places, such as Broxton Bridge and Lakeview, but I am looking for public trails. Are there any trail riders in either area and what are your opinions?
I live in Charleston, and I’m not much of a trail rider, but I have lots of trail riding friends! Off the top of my head, Frances Marion National Forest is a fun place to ride and Mullet Hall Equestrian Center has several miles of trails. As I said, there are lots of organized trail rides as well. Check out Lowcountry Saddle Club’s website:)
Thanks Simc24 - do you board your horse or have your own place? How is horse keeping in the area? Are bugs any worse then Savannah?
I’m not very familiar with Savannah, but the bugs can be pretty horrendous! There are still mosquitoes out now! The bugs vary very much with the actual area- I’m probably 15 miles off the coast, and I know from friends the bugs are much worse the closer you get. I do board, and there are lots of facilities. What specific questions do you have about horse-keeping in Charleston?
Columbia is 45 minutes to Aiken if that is any help.
Columbia Trails
Fivehorses is right. Columbia is 45 mins away from Aiken. They have the Hitchcock Woods which is maintained specifically for horses. 30 mins in the other direction you have Camden. The local foxhunt there has lots of land to ride on and you can ride there unlimited times with the purchase of a yearly membership. The Saluda Shoals park in Lexington county (about 15 mins outside of downtown Columbia) has trail access for horses also. PM if you want to talk more. I live/board in the Columbia area.
This all sounds good. I’m glad to hear about places to ride in both places, I know I’m leaning towards Columbia just cause it is at least closer to the terrain I’m used to.
I would love to hear about the good places to board in both Columbia & Charleston. Typical cost of board in the area. I’m not looking for fancy, just a good clean well maintained, take good care of the horses kind of place. A place that was totally pasture board with options of feeding and blanketing in the winter would be great. I could go the stall route as well, just depends on the place. It would be nice if they had trails on the place, but not a requirement.
Of course I need to be more focused on finding myself a place to live first, but the horse issue is my deciding factor on which place to move to. Any other advice you can give me about the area would be great as well —like the best side of town to live on.
Thanks!
Hmm sorry for the late reply…
In Charleston, typical board will be in the $300-$400 range for pasture, anywhere from $425-$700 for stall. Of course there are deviations on the high and low side, but I’d say that’s fairly common for places that are on the beaten path and not overly fancy.
The good barns do tend to fill up around here, and have waiting lists. At least 6-8 barns that I know of either have trails, or are adjacent to land with trails. If you are interested in Charleston, I will provide you the names of several barns with good reps. I’d also be happy to help you steer clear of the areas you want to avoid living in- some of them you would never know unless you went there at night, or someone told you, scarily enough.
I will say, though, that I’m a northern transplant, and Charleston is a fun place to live. Lots to do, something going on every weekend, big enough but not too big. The horsey environment is a little bit lacking, but my friends and I haul to Aiken (2 hours-ish, depending on where you live in Charleston) once-twice a month to school, and it’s no big deal.
