Cooper River Snowshoe — Friday, Jan. 18, 2019

Beautiful day to snowshoe the Cooper River trail. Drive to the very end of the road (it was plowed and basically bare ) and park along side of the road before you get to the turn around at the very end. (if you park in the turnaround you will be ticketed.) You also need a snow park pass to park here.  The road at the end says "road closed" This is where you begin. You must walk along the groomed trails for about a mile before you come to the actual trail head.(please walk to the right side of the groomed road, and do not walk on the xc ski tracks). After crossing the bridge over the river, and winding around to the right, stay strait on the road (to the right) and do not go left into the campground. continue following the groomed road and at the next "Y" stay to the left and do not take the uphill road to the right with the gate across it, as this is another trail. Once you see the parking areas and outhouses near the river, stay straight again toward the river and you will see the trail head sign for Cooper River to the right. This is where the trail actually begins. Snow was a few feet deep so we got a great workout breaking trail. Views are beautiful along the river but beware of walking out to the edges (cornices) unless you want to go for a swim. (This is actually a popular swimming hole in the summer months with a rope swing too) The trail is steeper than listed, climbs uphill for several miles through the forests and up away from the river. We went about 3 miles in and then decided to turn around. You can continue on for about another mile or so however if you choose. We had the trail all to ourselves all day long. Great snowshoe with minimal avalanche danger.