Glinda Coleman of the Great Falls Home Town Association reflects on an extraordinary 2023 and looks ahead to the continued transformation of Great Falls into a premier outdoor recreation destination in South Carolina. The year marked the opening of the whitewater area on the Catawba River, the beginning of construction on the rail corridor trail, and the announcement of plans for a new state park — milestones 23 years in the making since the Nature Based Tourism Initiative was born from a community planning session in 2000.
The article traces the long journey from a 2000 charrette where more than 200 citizens determined that nature-based tourism was the logical path to economic revitalization, through the grueling three-year Duke Energy relicensing stakeholder process beginning in 2003, to the issuance of the federal license in 2015. Since then, Duke Energy has invested nearly $81 million in Great Falls recreation infrastructure, with millions more planned in the coming years for amenities including a pedestrian bridge to Dearborn Island, additional kayak launches, and a fishing platform.
Beyond the whitewater, progress continues on multiple fronts. The Town purchased the abandoned 3.5-mile CSX rail bed in July 2021, securing grants from the Recreational Trails Program and a nearly $1 million legislative grant to develop it into a trail connecting to the Carolina Thread Trail. A new state park on the islands of Cedar Creek Reservoir is in active planning, and a wayfinding system is being developed to guide visitors to key attractions. With tourism being South Carolina's largest industry at $29 billion, Great Falls is poised to claim its place as a signature Southeast destination.