Landsford Canal State Park | |
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Nearest city | Chester, South Carolina |
Coordinates | 34°47′19″N 80°52′43″W / 34.78861°N 80.87861°W |
Area | 448 acres (181.3 ha) |
Camp sites | None |
Hiking trails | Interpretative Canal Trail |
Other information | Picnic shelters, bird watching, canoeing, fishing |
Landsford Canal State Park is a South Carolina state park in Chester County, two miles (3.2 km) from US 21. The 448-acre (1.81 km2) park contains the ruins of the Landsford Canal built using slave labor to bypass rapids on the Catawba River between 1820 and 1825. The coming of the railroad caused the canal to be abandoned. The former lock keeper's house contains an interpretive museum. In addition to the canal, visitors also can see one of the largest remaining stands of Hymenocallis coronaria, the Shoals spider-lily, that grows in the shoals of the river and blooms from mid-May to mid-June.[1] The park offers hiking, picnicking, boating, and fishing, as well as a playground.