Clemson University Forest

10/10/2026

4-H in the Forest is cancelled for today!
Please stay home and stay safe & dry.
Registration for the November 4-H in The Forest: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/4-h-in-the-forest-november-2026-workshop-tickets-1994304753202?aff=oddtdtcreator

10/02/2026

Youth Only Deer Hunt - Saturday, October 3, 2026

Every year on the first Saturday in October the South Carolina Department of Natural Resources hosts a youth only deer hunt (by lottery) in Fant's Grove Wildlife Management Area. The objective of these special hunts is to properly introduce new, young hunters to the challenges, enjoyment and thrills associated with hunting white-tailed deer and to make sure that their early experiences are conducted in a safe and ethical manner. A parent, responsible adult or DNR personnel supervise them and sit in the deer stand with them. Small caliber center fire ri**es with scopes are utilized during this event.

While this event is tightly controlled and monitored by the SCDNR for safety we recommend that recreational users avoid the roads and trails encompassed in the red shaded area of the map on Saturday, October 3, 2026.

Good luck to the young hunters!

10/01/2026

Money doesn't grow on trees… or does it? 🌲💵

A new post on the Clemson University Forest blog makes a compelling case that, in at least one sense, there is a benefit that has not been accounted for. Clemson researchers found that the Clemson University Forest saves about $752 a year in healthcare costs for each employee household living near it. That estimate doesn't even include the added benefits of clean water, flood protection, shade, teaching and research, and the same per-person health benefit extends to our non-employee neighbors, too.

Drawing on a study of nearly five million people, Clemson University researchers Matthew Browning and Olivia McAnirlin found that people living in the greenest neighborhoods cost the health system noticeably less each year, and the savings grow fastest where trees are already plentiful. Applied to the roughly 2,900 Clemson employees who live in the communities the Forest wraps around, that amounts to about $2.18 million a year in healthcare cost savings.

Faculty and staff say the Forest is twice as important in their decision to stay at Clemson as it was in their decision to come. A job offer brings people here. A favorite trail to walk the dog, a quiet run, a Saturday walk or bike ride with the kids, the place where you decompress after a busy week, those are what make a place feel like a healthy community.

It isn't listed on any of our employee benefits statements, but it has been paying out a real, measurable value all along!

Read the full post here 👉 https://blogs.clemson.edu/cuforest/cuf-employee-benefits/

09/25/2026

Only a few spots left for October 10th 4-H in the Forest! We'll be learning about Campfire safety & Fire Ecology. Did you know that prescribed fire can help manage a healthy forest?
There will be s'mores.
Register here:

Hands-On Learning Days in the Clemson University Forest. Get ready to explore nature and learn cool skills with 4-H out in the forest!

09/24/2026

🐯🌲 Heads up, Forest friends: Trail Run this Saturday!

This Saturday, September 26, the Clemson Wildlife Society student club is hosting the Clemson Wildlife Trail Run in the Clemson University Forest, featuring marathon, half-marathon, and 10K courses that wind through the North Forest. It's a fundraiser for a great group of students, and we're proud to host them.

What to expect: Heavy traffic and congestion at the Issaqueena Trailhead on Old Six Mile Road and the surrounding area throughout the day, with runners on the trails.

If you're not running, here are some alternatives:
🅿️ Park at the picnic shelters on Issaqueena Lake Road. That area won't be affected.
🧭 Explore the South Forest Fants Grove area. If the North Forest is your usual spot, this could be a good day to try somewhere new.

Whether you're lacing up for race day or finding a quieter corner of the Forest, thanks for sharing these trails with care. And if you see the runners out there, give them a cheer! 📣

09/18/2026

Recreation update:
The harvest near Old Six Mile Road has concluded and now that Clemson University Forest staff have ensured that the trails are in good condition, they have reopened to the public. Thank you for avoiding the closures and enjoy your time out there!

09/12/2026

CANCELLED: due to forecasted Thunderstorms

09/06/2026

The Forest is full of unexpected wonders right now. Thistle and Joe-Pye w**d, shining sumac and elephant's foot, the first of the fall asters opening along the trail edges. They waited out the whole loud summer and are only now unfolding, and the bees and butterflies have found every one of them. Look closely at the photos and you'll see the traffic. Look closely at the edge of the trees at dusk and you'll see the night shift clocking in, because it is moth season too, and the pollinating goes on long after we diurnal creatures have called it a day.

It would be easy to call these late bloomers “laggards”. Our society seems to prize the early and the efficient, the linear path, the clear rule that lets us make sense of things from our own hurried vantage point. But an ecosystem doesn't keep that kind of calendar. Instead, it marks the change in humidity, the slant of late-afternoon light that is sharp and golden where it pierces the gloam beneath a deep tree canopy, the morning chorus of birds and insects that shifts a little each day with the sunrise, the stars and planetary alignments moving across the sky slowly overhead. The late bloomers are not behind. They are right on time in their own time, arriving with nectar exactly when the hummingbirds and monarchs need one more good meal before the long flight south.

I don't fully believe that nature is only a Darwinist contest of the ‘fittest’. Watch the Forest long enough, and it looks more like a journey of the well-timed and the well-connected, of things adapting alongside one another, leaning into change, weaving their lives together in the liminal space between seasons. Some things simply need more time and more space. That doesn't make them slower, or less than, or better than. It makes them part of the woven tapestry of things.

I am a late bloomer myself. So was the nap I took today, which I'm calling essential. There is a time for everything under the sun, as the old book says and the Byrds sang, and the late Wendell Berry spent a lifetime of Sabbath mornings teaching us to trust that timing rather than rush it. I like to think He'd have liked this week's asters too.

Come walk the Forest before the first frost. Bring your patience. Something out here is blooming just for you, and it is right on time.

Pics & ponderings by PAWhitener

08/25/2026

UPDATE: Trails have been reopened

CUF Trail Closures

A few weeks ago, we told you about the blue paint appearing on trees along the Bottleneck Trail.

Equipment is moving into the "Six-Mile Harvest" area this week, and with it comes a second kind of marking that appears not on trees, but on signs. It is time to pay attention to what you see and hear on your next walk in the North Forest.

⚠️ TRAIL CLOSURE UPDATE

If you see a trail closed sign, there are no exceptions and no shortcuts. The area contains many hazards on both trails and forest roads, so the safest place for you is somewhere else.

The map above shows the current area of operation. This list has been updated since the original post. The following trails are closed until the operation is complete:

🚫 Family Trail and Stop Sign Trail — between Bottleneck Trail and Logging Road #1
🚫 East Dam Road — between the Issaqueena Parking Area and Logging Road #1
🚫 Logging Road #1 — between East Dam Road and the Triple Creek Trail intersection
🚫 RC Edwards Trail — from Old Six Mile Road to where it crosses the creek toward Triple Creek Trail
🚫 Bottleneck Trail — from the Issaqueena Parking Area to where it crosses Old Six Mile Road

Please plan your route accordingly and stay safe out there!

We know closures are frustrating, especially on trails you've walked for years. But a well-managed forest gets to keep being loved for generations, not just this one. The equipment, the noise, and the temporary inconvenience are what give young oaks, the sunlit understory, and successional habitat the space to thrive. It's uncomfortable in the short term in a way that good change usually is for long-term sustainability.

CUF Staff are working hard to keep the signage up to date as the area of operation shifts, and we'll continue to share maps and updates here as the work progresses. In the meantime, watch for signs and pay attention!
The trails will be back.

🔗 More information on this work: https://blogs.clemson.edu/cuforest/managing-forest-health-bottleneck-trail-old-six-mile-road/

08/19/2026

For nearly a century, the Clemson University Forest has been teaching us about the relationship between land and community. Through picnic shelters and bridges built by CCC crews during the 1930's and 40's, through 150 miles of trails worn in by hikers, bikers, and riders, through a lake that has held generations of memories since 1934.

But loving a place well takes more than affection; it requires a plan. Tens of thousands of visitors now pass through our trailheads each year, and with that much life moving through these woods, there are bound to be questions about safety, access, and stewardship.

That's why we're excited to share the CU Forest's new Recreation Management Plan. This provides a roadmap for protecting what makes this Forest special while keeping it open, safe, and welcoming for the people who love it.

Here's what every Clemson University Forest user should know:
🥾 Hike, bike, and ride only on designated trails and roads (Class 1 e-bikes allowed on trails). Note that the Issaqueena Lake area and Fants Grove (Seed Orchard, Butch Kennedy) see the heaviest use

🐾 Dogs must be under control at all times

🔥 No fires except in designated structures; no alcohol; no camping without University authorization

🚗 Issaqueena Lake Road is closed Nov. 1–March 15 (or as posted)

🚤 5 mph speed limit on Lake Issaqueena; no diving, swimming, or sliding at the dam

🎯 About 70% of the Forest is leased to SC DNR as Wildlife Management Area (WMA) land — Fants Grove, Keowee, and Gravely — marked by yellow triangular signs. Hunting and fishing are permitted only within these areas, and hunters are responsible for knowing current SC DNR seasons and regulations. All other recreation may continue in WMAs too, but research, teaching, and education always take priority there

🔫 Outside the WMAs, University Concealed Weapons policy applies to all fi****ms, open or concealed

📵 Cell service is limited — tell someone your route before you head out

This Forest belongs to all of us, and so does the work of caring for it. Take a few minutes to read the full plan and see what's ahead 👇

🔗 Recreation Management Plan https://www.clemson.edu/campus-life/cu-forest/about/plans-reports/recreation-plan.html

Image: Retired Old Trekker M.A.Whitener, Junebug & Izzy on Dam rd.