It’s no big surprise to those of us who have enjoyed Greenville’s many outdoor amenities that this popular Upstate community has been chosen as a Top 10 Best Active Town in America by Outside Magazine. 

Now’s your chance to make it No. 1. You have until June 10 to vote for Greenville in this year’s Best Town Ever contest. The winners will be announced in the magazine’s September issue.

It’s going to be a tough battle given the competition, which includes such notable towns as San Diego, Boston and Honolulu. But Greenville’s got plenty to offer in the outdoor activity department. Among my favorites are:

* The 17-mile Swamp Rabbit Trail, a bike-and-pedestrian-only pathway that runs along the Reedy River and links to Furman University’s scenic campus. Along the way are plenty of benches and gazebos, as well as some terrific trailside restaurants to rest and refuel.

* Falls Park, the centerpiece of downtown Greenville’s Historic West End, features nature trails, “garden rooms,” an amphitheater, picnic pavilion, a river walk with interactive fountain, two natural waterfalls and a one-of-a-kind cantilevered footbridge over the Reedy River. A wide range of events — from jazz concerts to Shakespeare performances — are held monthly in the 32-acre urban green space.

* Cleveland Park, labeled by residents as “The City Park,” features lighted tennis and basketball courts, two sand volleyball courts, a lighted softball field, four playgrounds, a 16-station fitness trail, a nature trail, eight picnic shelters, loads of green space to throw around a football or Frisbee, a dog park and a full-scale zoo. Whew! The Reedy River runs along the length of the park, creating a picturesque setting for all the recreational activities.

Just 10 minutes from downtown Greenville is Paris Mountain State Park with its 15 miles of mountain biking trails. Up until 2012, Greenville was the site of the U.S. Pro Cycling championships. Next year, the Para-cycling Championships come to town.

Now that I’ve convinced you, click here to vote for Greenville as the Best Active Town in 2013. And if you’ve never visited Greenville, pack up your boots, bike and boat and see for yourself why this very cool community deserves the top spot.

If you want to check out some of the monster trees that make up Congaree National Park’s famed old-growth bottomland forest, take a hike on the Oakridge Trail, an easy 6.6-mile trek offering a Whitman’s Sampler of hardwoods. 

The red-blazed backwoods trail passes through an impressive stretch of towering trees — some as tall as a 16-story building. The botanical assortment includes ancient loblolly pines, bald cypress, water tupelo, American elm, cherrybark oak, sweetgum and hickory.

To get to the Oakridge Loop, you have to begin your walk on the elevated boardwalk that starts at the Harry Hampton Visitor Center. When you get to a fork in the boardwalk, veer right toward the Weston Lake Loop. Follow the yellow-blazed lake trail for about a half mile.

The Oakridge Loop begins after you cross the footbridge over Cedar Creek. The trail takes you past Wise Lake and various floodplain forest habitats frequented by pileated woodpeckers, barred owls, osprey, great blue heron and a variety of migratory songbirds.

The forest is also home to otters, deer, wild hogs, iridescent skinks, alligators and snakes, among other wildlife.

At the end of the Oakridge loop, you’ll reconnect with the Weston Lake Trail. You might have noticed all of the footbridges along the way are marked by a letter. Just past the “D” footbridge is one of the biggest loblolly pines in the forest.

“It’s 250 years old, which is about as old as loblolly pines get,” said volunteer nature guide Steve Dennis. “Most of the big pines get hit by lightning and die before they get that old. This particular one is rooted in an area of low elevation, which may be why it has survived this long.”

On the day I visited the park, Dennis was leading one of the free guided nature walks offered every Saturday morning at 9:30 a.m. A number of other interesting walks and talks are scheduled each month at the park. Some of them require reservations. For more information on the educational programs, click here. 

Whether you decide to venture out on your own or take one of the guided walks, be sure to pack insect repellent and protective clothing to ward off the mosquitoes that breed in the park’s wetlands. In the warmer months of the year, those pesky stinging insects are out for blood and visitors are prime targets.

You’ll also want to carry plenty of water if you’re planning on a long hike.

And be sure to stop at the visitor center to pick up a map of the park’s trails and to check on trail conditions. The backwoods paths are maintained on a limited basis and may be blocked at any time by fallen trees or debris washed in during flooding.

If you’re traveling with pets, you are welcome to take them on your hike so long as they are leashed. But be aware, dogs are not allowed on the boardwalks.

The Harry Hampton Visitor Center is open daily from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. year-round. Admission to the park, which is outside Columbia, is free. For more information, click here or call (803) 776-4396. 

If walking through the woods in the dark of night gives you the heebie-jeebies, now’s your chance to experience it without the worry.

As part of its 2013 Nature Series, Birds & Butterflies of Aiken is offering a guided field trip through the 3,154-acre Silver Bluff Audubon Center May 21 led by none other than the sanctuary director, Paul Koehler.

Participants will meet at the Visitors Center at 7:30 p.m. to begin the nocturnal tour. During the walk, Koehler will identify the calls of the night dwellers that inhabit the preserve, among them Whip-poor-wills, owls, Chuck-will’s-widow and frogs.

Located along the Savannah River in Jackson, Silver Bluff features habitats typical of much of South Carolina’s Coastal Plain with upland pine forests, hardwood bottomlands, fields, lakes and streams. More than 200 species of birds have been identified in the sanctuary.

Cost of the one-hour field trip is just $5; free for children 16 and younger. It’s limited to 25 participants, so you’ll want to make your reservations right away. To book your spot, call (803) 649-7999. Be sure to bring a flashlight.

Birds & Butterflies’ 2013 Nature Series schedule features monthly seminars or field trips on everything from the owls of South Carolina to snakes of the Southeast. For the complete schedule of events, call the Aiken store at (803) 649-7999.

So many rivers. So little time.

I recently discovered another great paddling destination in South Carolina. The Enoree River, located in the Piedmont’s backcountry, offers the kind of off-the-grid experience one finds in places visitors seldom venture.

From the small Southern town of Clinton, the river winds through 36 miles of Sumter National Forest. Paddling downstream along steep hardwood bluffs and floodplain forests, you are cloaked in a solitude enjoyed only in remote settings far from cell towers and Wi-Fi.

On a recent weekend, we put in at the canoe launch at Musgrove Mill State Historic Site, six miles upstream from the official start of the river trail. Aside from navigating past some riffles and a few downed branches at the launch site, it was an easy two-hour float trip.

The name Enoree comes from the Cherokees, meaning “river of muscadines”, the wild grapes that can be found all along the lower section of the waterway. Along with grapevines, the surrounding terrain features ash, sycamore and hickory trees that form a dense canopy over the water in the warmer months of the year.

Most of the Enoree is narrow and shallow, ranging from 40 to 70 feet across and two to six feet deep. The first 16 miles of the river trail (referred to as Reach 1) is virtually free of development. While you won’t see many species of the two-legged variety, the surrounding land is popular with hawks, blue herons, barred owls, mink, muskrats and otters.

The brisk current moved us along at a steady pace, but we had to do a little maneuvering to get around sandbars and strainers.

During rainy months, the water level can overflow the Enoree’s banks. In the dry summer months, there may only be a trickle in the main channel. The rangers at Musgrove Mill can provide you with information on the current conditions of the river in the section running through the park. The park office number is (864) 938-0100.

We took out at Jones Bridge, but there are two more access points in Reach 1 of the river trail. It’s about a four- to five-hour paddle to the second take-out site at Forest Service Road 339.

The Enoree Passage of the Palmetto Trail crosses through Reach 1. Look out for hikers crossing a footbridge just after the Jones Bridge access point.

For a printable guide and map of the Enoree River Canoe Trail, click here. 

In an area as flat as the Atlantic Coastal Plain, a 30-foot hill will catch most people’s attention. The fact that it was once an Indian ceremonial and burial site and later a British fort makes it a must-see attraction in the Santee National Wildlife Refuge. 

Located in the preserve’s Bluff Unit, the Santee Indian Mound dates back a thousand years to a native culture that flourished on the coastal plain in the centuries before the founding of Charleston.

Aside from being the site of various religious rites, it also was used for burials by the local Santee Indians, part of the Mississippian culture that lived in this area for thousands of years. Archeologists have excavated at least 16 graves from the mound.

By the beginning of the American Revolution, the site had been abandoned by the Indians, many of whom were shipped to the West Indies as slaves during the Yemassee War. The British made use of the high ground to build an outpost. Fort Watson provided an elevated vantage point that overlooked the Santee River and the road to Charleston.

The mound was incorporated into a stockade with vertical logs around the summit and a surrounding ditch with three rows of pointed stakes aimed outward. An attempt by the Patriots to take the post in February 1781 failed miserably. In April, General Francis Marion, known as the “Swamp Fox”, and Lt. Colonel Henry “Light Horse Harry” Lee initiated a siege that consisted of scattered small arms duels.

But the course of the battle changed when the Patriots built a tower that could be used to fire into the stockade, neutralizing the British troop’s advantage of elevation. Once Marion had overtaken Fort Watson, he demolished the works to ensure the British would not return to occupy it.

Although the action lasted only eight days, it was an important American victory — one of several skirmishes that forced the British to abandon the back country of South Carolina.

No remnants of the fort remain, but visitors can climb to an observation platform at the top of the mound to read about the siege and its prehistoric past. You’ll also enjoy a fantastic view of the lake and Santee Cooper country. 

For directions or information on the Santee National Wildlife Refuge, click here or call (803) 478-2217.