Cowpens National Battlefield · South Carolina

Nature Trail

1.7 mi of trail, end to end · about 40 ft of climbing · 150 ft of descent · 870 ft–937 ft · hiking

Picnic areas

901 ft 870 ft · 0.7 mi high 917 ft

Along the way Picnic Area

Cowpens Nature Trail the Park Service's write-up

25-90 Minutes · dogs allowed

Start Cowpens Nature Trail

Trailhead to the Cowpens Nature Trail with a way side on the right in the woods.
Cowpens Nature Trail Photo: NPS Photo / Mike Puckett

The park's 2-mile Nature Trail leads you through varied habitat -- from floodplain to forest -- typical of the South Carolina upcountry. Sycamores, hollies, hickories, cedars, and 12 species of oak shade the trail. Look carefully on the forest floor for fan club moss and dwarf flower heartleaf (leaf), a threatened species. Of the 500 plus plant species in the park, most are native.

Morning and evening are the best times to spot wild turkeys, white tailed deer browsing on tender underbrush, and cottontail rabbits and gray squirrels scurrying for cover at the sound of your footsteps. As you cross the footbridges, look for turtles sunning on rocks, as well as frogs, salamanders, and perhaps snakes.

Accessibility The trail is 2-miles long, about 1.5ft wide, unimproved dirt, bridges over the creek, and has stairs at the end.

This hike on nps.gov

On the parks map

All 7 trails in Cowpens National BattlefieldFind a trailOn the parks mapPark on nps.gov

About this trail's facts

The lines are the National Park Service's public trails layer, the trailheads and the waterfalls, views, peaks and historic places along them the Service's public points of interest, read 2026-10-16 and simplified for the map; the length is the line's, end to end. The write-ups are the Service's own "things to do" text, unedited. Heights come from USGS 3DEP through Terrain Tiles on AWS (Mapzen/Tilezen), read along each line and rounded; a short trail on steep ground can be off by a few tens of feet. Closures change: check the park's own site before you go.