By Stan Welch
Efforts to improve Dolly Cooper Park and increase access to the Saluda River received a boost recently, as the Duke Energy Foundation Nature Grant Program awarded Anderson County a fifty thousand dollar grant.
The grant will fund the construction and installation of an additional ADA compliant kayak launch, in addition to the existing one at the park. Serving as the terminus of a twelve hundred foot long shared use River Walk, the launch will allow kayakers, swimmers, and other water enthusiasts access to a quarter mile stretch of the river without having to leave the park.
Anderson County was one of only eleven awardees in South Carolina, and the only government entity to be so honored. District Six Councilman Jimmy Davis expressed the county’s gratitude and appreciation of the utility’s generosity. “Anderson County has worked tirelessly to make the Saluda Blue Trail a destination for kayakers and boaters, and this grant is an acknowledgement of those efforts. Recreation Director Matt Shell can take great pride in the success that he and his staff have had in creating a special recreational and natural opportunity for both our citizens and for visitors.
