SUMTER, S.C. — Poinsett State Park in Sumter County is set to open soon after being closed for a few weeks. Park staff is using this time to make improvements to the area.
"Poinsett State Park is called the 'Mountains of the Midlands," Park Manager Mark Owens said regarding the property in Wedgefield. "It has a really rich history from pre-Revolutionary War times…Poinsett is a very unique park because you can find Spanish moss hanging on mountain laurels. Mountain laurels you typically find just in the Upstate. But then we also have cypress swamps as well."
With over 1,000 acres, 24 campsites, 25 miles of mountain biking trails and 26 tent sites, Owens said the park is visited often.
"A lot of our visitors come in either spring and fall. That's when the weather's the best," Owens said. "We have five different cabins here. Cabins one through four sleep four people, cabin five sleeps seven. They come with all your bed and bath linens, your pots pans. They have Wi-Fi."
But since early September, the park has been closed, undergoing improvements.
"Even if the park isn't busy with people, we're doing projects to better their experience," Owens said.
He says this includes repairing a shelter, thinning trees in the day-use area, updating the cabins, improving the campground electrical setup, repaving all the roads and rebuilding the community campfire ring.
"This park is an old park. It was built in the 30s," Owens said. "The improvements that we make, the opportunities that we provide is part due to, you know long-term maintenance goals, but it's also to bring out a different type of experience for the newer crowd. It's kind of the same way with educating; people learn in different ways. So we kinda shake things up and want to provide an experience that targets a multitude of user groups."
Owens says the park is expected to open back up on Oct. 2.
On Oct. 21, the park is hosting The October Fire Program to kick off a four-part series focusing on the four elements. This first event aims to educate Sumter residents about fire safety from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m. and 12:30 p.m. to 2 p.m.