Lynch's Woods Park
Robin Carter
Directions
From Exit 74 of I-26 go west on SC 34, towards Newberry. At 2.3 miles from the interstate turn left (southeast) onto US 76. Go 1 mile to the park entrance on the left (east) side of US 76, near the junction of US 76 and SC 34 west.
Birds to look for
Yellow-billed Cuckoo (s), Barred Owl, Red-headed Woodpecker, Hairy Woodpecker, Eastern Wood-Pewee (s), Acadian Flycatcher (s), Eastern Phoebe, Great Crested Flycatcher (s), Blue-headed Vireo, Brown-headed Nuthatch, Veery (m), Gray-cheeked Thrush (m), Swainson's Thrush (m), Wood Thrush (s), Blue-winged Warbler (m), Tennessee Warbler (m), Northern Parula (s), Chestnut-sided Warbler (m), Magnolia Warbler (m), Cape May Warbler (m), Black-throated Blue Warbler (m), Yellow-rumped Warbler (w), Black-throated Green Warbler (m), Blackburnian Warbler (m), Yellow-throated Warbler (s), Pine Warbler, Blackpoll Warbler (m), Black-and-white Warbler (s), American Redstart (m), Prothonotary Warbler (s), Worm-eating Warbler (s), Ovenbird (s), Louisiana Waterthrush (s), Kentucky Warbler (s), Common Yellowthroat (s), Hooded Warbler (s), Summer Tanager (s), Scarlet Tanager (m), Rose-breasted Grosbeak (m), American Goldfinch
Description
Cannons Creek rises on the southeastern side of the city of Newberry and flows generally eastward to the Broad River near Parr Dam. About 360 acres of the upper reaches of the Cannon Creek watershed are protected in a beautiful Newberry County park, Lynch's Woods Park. Much of the park consists of a mature cove hardwood forest along the creek, with a mature oak-hickory forest on the steeper slopes uphill from the creek. The woods seem more like those of the lower slopes of the Blue Ridge Mountains than those of a Piedmont location. Lynch's Woods is an island of mature hardwoods in an otherwise heavily developed part of Newberry County, and so it is best during the spring and fall migrations.
A part of the Palmetto trail runs through the park. Usually you can drive a 4-mile long loop road as well as hike the trails.