Seven must-see stops on scenic Hwy. 11

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The smoky outlines of the Blue Ridge Mountain foothills rise above the tree line, beckoning me onward as I drive west along South Carolina’s scenic Hwy. 11.

Rolling fields of corn and hay, strawberry farms, peach orchards, barbecue pits and produce stands decorate the 118-mile drive through the Upstate. The mountain view transforms from a hazy gray smudge on the horizon west of Chesnee into a stunning view of Table Rock towering above the road near Pickens.

South Carolina’s nationally designated scenic route, officially known as the Cherokee Foothills National Scenic Highway, starts on the north side of Gaffney before it winds and twists through small towns, rural areas and mountains north of Interstate 85, ending at Lake Hartwell State Park near the Georgia line.

It’s a road for all seasons, the conduit to some of the Palmetto State’s best state parks, shimmering lakes, waterfalls and stunning fall color displays, but I’m on a quest for something more—roadside attractions with a unique South Carolina twist. Here are seven of my favorites.

Gaffney Peachoid

The Gaffney Peachoid, a giant, peach-shaped water tower that was the “butt” of a running joke in a 2013 episode of the Netflix series House of Cards, is hard to miss looming over Interstate 85 and the Cherokee Foothills Scenic Highway. What better way to start a Hwy. 11 road trip than taking a few lighthearted selfies with the iconic landmark?

The tower was built in 1981 to honor the region’s peach industry and repainted in 2017 to give it a riper pink hue.

“We think it’s the prettiest tank in the country, by far,” says Donnie Hardin, general manager of the Gaffney board of public works. He points out that the 135-foot tower’s design is a copyrighted original, though the City of Gaffney did allow the town of Clanton, Alabama, to build a half-sized replica.

Visitors to the landmark will find it enclosed by a fence with a small parking area and picnic tables for visitors who want to enjoy a picnic lunch and take pictures of this enduring curiosity.

The Peachoid is located at 294 Peachoid Road, Gaffney, off northbound I-85 between exits 90 and 92. Admission is free; gated picnic area open during daylight hours. (864) 488-8800; gbpw.com/peachoid-information.

Strawberry Hill USA

Dozens of red, white and blue streamers fluttering in the breeze welcome travelers to Strawberry Hill USA.

The roadside produce stand, farm, cafe and agritourism site west of Chesnee, also known as Cooley Family Farms, is open all year with seasonally changing produce—pumpkins and apples in fall, peaches through the summer, and strawberries in spring. But the farm kicks into high gear in September and October.

“The fall is a time when we invite families out for fun on the farm,” says Brandi Easler, the oldest daughter of owner James Cooley.

The 10-acre corn maze is scheduled to operate this year between Sept. 22 and Oct. 28. Hayrides to the pumpkin patch, where children can pick a small pumpkin and spend time exploring, will be offered on Saturdays and Sundays from the last week of September through October.

Visitors can enjoy breakfast, lunch and homemade ice cream treats at the cafe that sits across the road from the sprawling produce stand, where the bins will be filled with whatever is in season—tomatoes, berries, peaches, apples, melons, beans and more. The farm also offers its brand of bottled ciders, preserves and fruit breads to fuel your Hwy. 11 road trip.

Strawberry Hill USA, aka Cooley Family Farms, is located at 3097 Hwy. 11 West, about six miles west of Chesnee. Produce stand hours are 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. seven days a week. Cafe hours are 6 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Monday through Saturday and closed on Sunday. Ice cream parlor is open until 8 p.m. seven days a week. (864) 461-7225; strawberryhillusa.com.

Campbell’s Covered Bridge

A short detour off Hwy. 11 near the town of Landrum takes travelers to South Carolina’s only remaining covered wooden bridge.

Built in 1909, the 38-foot-long, 12-foot-wide bridge, which crosses Beaverdam Creek, is the centerpiece of a Greenville County park where visitors can get their feet wet, take a short hike through the woods and explore the foundation of the old grist mill and homestead. The bridge is now a popular spot for photographs and family picnics, but back in the day, it was part of the vital infrastructure says Colin Young, parks and development planner with Greenville County.

Dean Campbell, local historian and owner of Dark Corner Tours, says this particular bridge is named for his great-grand-uncle, Alexander Lafayette Campbell, owner of a local grist mill.

“It’s a very unique design,” says Campbell, who explains that while the walls of the old bridge have developed a slight lean, the base is made with four spans, each with a double crossbar of giant timbers and steel rods. “It’s 110 years old and yet it doesn’t sag. And the reason it doesn’t sag is because of the design.”

Campbell’s Covered Bridge is located at 171 Campbell Covered Bridge Road, Landrum. Admission is free; park is open daylight hours. (864) 288-6470; greenvillerec.com/parks/campbells-covered-bridge.

Poinsett Bridge

It’s easy to see why this Gothic stone bridge has been the subject of many ghost stories.

Poinsett Bridge, completed in 1820 and nestled in the shade of a heavily forested area off Callahan Mountain Road near Travelers Rest, feels like the setting for a medieval fairy tale. Its fitted stone construction—each piece of rock chiseled to match the others and dry-stacked together with nothing but sand and clay—forms a 14-foot arch.

But the Gothic arch wasn’t built for looks; it was built so horses or mules could pull a fully loaded wagon up the incline, says Dean Campbell, a local historian and tour guide.

The 130-foot bridge which crosses Little Gap Creek was built on a toll road from Charleston to the North Carolina mountains. It’s now at the heart of the 120-acre Poinsett Bridge Heritage Preserve. A drive through the preserve is a peaceful way to take in peak fall color.

The bridge was named for Joel Poinsett, an amateur botanist who chaired the state board of public works at the time. He later became an American diplomat in Mexico and brought back many plants, including the species named after him—the poinsettia.

Campbell, who grew up camping near the bridge, says the eerie sounds one hears at night may have inspired ghost stories, but they have a simple explanation. “It’s because of the archway,” he explains. “The wind that whistles through the arch does have a different sound.”

Poinsett Bridge is located at 580 Callahan Mountain Road, Travelers Rest, in the Poinsett Bridge Heritage Preserve. Admission is free; open daylight hours. (864) 288-6470; greenvillerec.com/parks/poinsett-bridge.

Wildcat Wayside

Hundreds of Upstate waterfalls lure visitors off the Cherokee Foothills Scenic Highway and into the surrounding hills, but to reach Wildcat Branch Falls, all you have to do is pull off on a paved turnout.

The roadside stop is known as Wildcat Wayside. Just steps off the highway, the mountain stream cascades about 20 feet over a slab of granite and flows into a shallow pool that is a perfect place to stop and splash around.

“The accessibility is the No. 1 attraction,” says Bryn Hamer, manager of the Mountain Bridge Wilderness Area that includes the falls. “It’s just right there on the road. It’s a waterfall that does not require a hike.”

If you do care to stretch your legs, an easy, one-mile trail from the lower falls winds through a forest of white pine and hemlock, up stairs and through thickets of mountain laurel and rhododendron to the base of the upper falls. The trail to the top of the 130-foot-tall upper falls is now closed, but visitors can still get an excellent view from the base.

Wildcat Wayside is on the right side of S.C. 11, traveling west, about five miles west of the U.S. 276 junction. Admission is free; open daylight hours. (864) 836-6115; sctrails.net/trails/trail/wildcat-wayside.

Table Rock Tea Company

The newest roadside attraction on Hwy. 11, Table Rock Tea Company, started by accident.

Steve Lorch and his wife, Jennifer, founded the business several years ago when they purchased a 17-acre farm practically in the shadow of Table Rock State Park. Tours of the facility where they now grow, harvest and process the leaves from about 6,000 mature Camellia sinensis plants, are offered by appointment, Thursday through Sunday.

“We’re actually a tea grower, a tea maker and a tea seller,” Lorch says. “We do everything from start to finish.”

The couple learned about tea while in Kenya, one of about 30 countries they visited with Hydromissions International, a nonprofit, nondenominational Christian mission they created to bring clean water to developing nations.

When they retired to the farm in 2008, the couple decided to use tea plants to create an ornamental hedge and one thing led to another. “When we got to about 400 or 500 plants, we said, ‘Why don’t we start a tea company?’ So we did.”

Table Rock Tea Company is located at 118 High Hills Lane, Pickens, off Carrick Creek Road across from Table Rock State Park. Free tours by appointment Thursday through Sunday. (864) 915-0571; tablerocktea.com.

Oconee Station State Historic Site

For the final stop of my journey, I detour off Hwy. 11 to visit Oconee Station State Historic Site near Walhalla and explore a little-known era of South Carolina history.

In the post-Revolutionary War period, this 210-acre tract marked the border between South Carolina and territory inhabited by the Cherokee and Creek Indian tribes, says ranger Scott Alexander. The property housed a state militia garrison staffed by 27 men, who probably found the post a bit boring.

“In the years after the American Revolution, South Carolina and Georgia were on pretty good relationships with the Cherokee, but not the Creek,” Alexander says. “There were no armed conflicts at this site. What they were really trying to stop was cattle raiding.”

The fort closed in 1799 after several years without a skirmish, he says, but settlers continued to occupy the site as a frontier trading town where they exchanged skins, furs, livestock and manufactured goods with Native Americans. A 1792 garrison structure and the 1805 home of trader William Richards still stand.

The buildings are open for tours on Saturdays and Sundays and by appointment, but visitors can see the exterior of the structures at any time. There’s also a four-acre pond on-site and an easy 1.5-mile walking trail from the parking lot into Sumter National Forest that ends at Station Cove Falls, a stepped 60-foot waterfall.

Oconee Station State Historic Site is located at 500 Oconee Station Road, Walhalla. Admission is free; hours are 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. daily; tours offered 1 to 5 p.m. Saturday and Sundays, and by appointment. (864) 638-0079; southcarolinaparks.com/oconee-station.

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Leaf peeping on Hwy. 11

Hwy. 11 is a popular destination during fall when visitors from across the Southeast come to take in the brilliant spectacle of changing leaves that paint the foothills in shades of yellow, orange, red and amber.

The best time to see fall colors varies from year to year, but generally occurs from the last week of October through the first week to 10 days of November, says Tim Todd, director of the Discover Upcountry Carolina Association, which promotes tourism in a six-county area along the Cherokee Foothills National Scenic Highway.

Teresa Lewis, who with husband Ed owns Aunt Sue’s Country Corner, a café and general store on Hwy. 11 between Caesars Head and Table Rock state parks, says the parks draw thousands of visitors in the fall. But there are other places to take in the sight of changing leaves, she says.

“You can get off the main route, and take some of the country roads, and see a lot,” says Lewis, a member of Blue Ridge Electric Cooperative. She also says the area draws a lot of motorcycle riders because “they really like the curves.”

Leaf color varies along the corridor and changes with elevation, Todd says. He recommends visitors enjoy leaf season as part of other outdoor activities along the corridor.

“You can see it by car driving along Scenic 11, but you can also enjoy it with a horseback riding trip, a whitewater rafting trip, zip line, hiking,” he says. “It’s all about the outdoors.”

For more on all the ways to enjoy fall color displays, visit scenic11.com. For daily updates and forecasts on the arrival of peak fall color, see smokymountains.com/fall-foliage-map.

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