For its whole public life, Laurel Hill County Park has had one way in for everyday visitors. You park at Park West Recreation Complex, walk to the trailhead and head into 745 acres of woods, lake and oak allee that sit between Highway 17N and Highway 41. This fall brings two changes to that. On November 7, the park hosts its first organized trail race, and every runner will come in from the Highway 41 side. Early in 2027, if Charleston County's schedule holds, crews are expected to start building a new road and a 10-foot multi-use path along the park's edge. That path is designed to connect directly to Laurel Hill's trails.
Both changes point the same way. Laurel Hill is starting to connect to the rest of town from more than one side. Here is how the park works today, how race day works, and what the County has approved so far for the edge of the park.
What Laurel Hill still is, eleven years in
Laurel Hill opened in January 2015 as an early-stage passive park. It started with trails, no on-site restrooms, no trash cans and public access through Park West. The Charleston County Park and Recreation Commission's current listing still calls it a rustic nature park and still lists no restrooms. Amenities now include a lake overlook, a Compass Course, fishing and picnic tables. The park is open daily from sunrise to sunset. Admission is $1 per person, and Gold Pass members and children age 2 or younger get in free.
The official park map shows six color-coded loops. From the trailhead, it's 1 mile to the oak allee and 1.1 miles to the lake.
| Loop | Length |
|---|---|
| White | 0.5 mile |
| Green | 1.3 miles |
| Blue | 1.4 miles |
| Yellow | 1.7 miles |
| Orange | 2.2 miles |
| Red | 4.8 miles |
CCPRC describes the trails as natural and unimproved. The park rules allow leashed dogs, as long as owners keep them under control and clean up after them. Bicycles and e-bikes are allowed on the trails. Cyclists yield to pedestrians and walk their bikes across boardwalks. Visitors pack out their own trash and stay on designated trails, which can be uneven. The rules also warn that access can be limited for special events, land management or maintenance.
That warning about limited access applies directly to the first race.
November 7 opens the other gate
The park map marks a second entrance at 1400 North Highway 41 and labels it for event access and parking, not as an everyday trailhead. Shake Your Trail Feathers, CCPRC's new fall race, will use that entrance. CCPRC's September 23 announcement says race attendees must enter at 1400 Highway 41 and will not be allowed in through Park West for the event.
If you're planning to run, walk the course or bring the kids, here's what you need to know:
- Date and times. Saturday, November 7. The untimed Kids Dash starts at 8:45 a.m., and the 5K and 10K start at 9 a.m.
- Cost. $38 for the 5K, $40 for the 10K and $5 for the Kids Dash. Every registration includes a finisher medal.
- Deadline. You can only register in advance, and registration closes Wednesday, November 4. There's no on-site signup. Register through the Charleston County Parks event page.
- Terrain. The course is a loop on natural surfaces, ranging from hard-packed trail with roots to grass, with some uneven stretches. CCPRC doesn't recommend strollers, and pets aren't allowed on the course. Bring your own water bottle.
- Who can enter. The race is open to runners and walkers of all levels, beginners included. Anyone under 15 must be with an adult, and a parent or guardian must be present for the Kids Dash.
- Accessibility. There's no accessible parking. An accessible portable restroom will be at the event site.
Costumes are encouraged. The finish line will have music and fall-themed treats, and the winners take home the fixings for a Thanksgiving feast.
If you usually walk the dog at Laurel Hill on Saturday mornings, November 7 is a day to check with CCPRC before you go. The race brings in a new crowd, a separate entrance and a course that shares the regular loops.
Laurel Hill isn't the only nearby county park with an event closure this fall. Palmetto Park Jam takes over the meadow at Palmetto Islands County Park on Sunday, October 11. Gates open at 11 a.m., the Novatones play at noon and Idlewild Revival follows at 1:30 p.m. Admission is $20 per vehicle in advance or $30 at the gate if it hasn't sold out, with up to 15 people per vehicle. The Post and Courier reports the park will be closed that day to anyone not attending the concert.
The edge that is about to change
The race uses the Highway 41 side for one morning. The County's plan for Highway 41 would build a road and path along that side permanently.
The Highway 41 Corridor Improvements Project would widen the highway in what the County calls a 4-3-4 configuration. That means four lanes from Clements Ferry Road to Dunes West Boulevard and Rivertowne Parkway, three lanes through the Phillips Community, and four lanes again from Bessemer Road and Joe Rouse Road to Highway 17. The plan also includes Laurel Hill Parkway, a new two-lane local road from Highway 41 to Park West Boulevard. In a June 12, 2026 letter to CCPRC, the County Administrator wrote that the parkway includes "a 10-foot multi-use path with direct connections to Laurel Hill County Park trails."
Here's how the plan has moved forward this summer:
- June 12: The County asked CCPRC to donate 2.80 acres of park land off Bessemer Road for the parkway and path. A County-contracted appraiser valued the land at $122,100.
- July 13: The CCPRC Commission approved the donation.
- July 14: Mount Pleasant Town Council voted 5-4 against a motion to withhold municipal consent. The Council then voted to let the County go ahead with the plan, which Moultrie News described as including a one-mile spur through Laurel Hill Parkway to Park West Boulevard.
- July 22: The South Carolina Department of Environmental Services held a public hearing on the County's application to disturb 76.9 acres. If the state permit is issued, the Army Corps of Engineers still has to complete its own review.
The Council vote was close, and the Moultrie News coverage shows why. Mayor Will Haynie and Councilmembers Howard Chapman, Mike Tinkey, Kathryn Whitaker and Alex Crosby supported the County plan. They pointed to a no-build scenario in which the town would forfeit $245 million. Most residents who spoke that night opposed the plan. Their concerns included lost marshland and the removal of at least 1,000 trees along Laurel Hill Park. Rep. Kathy Landing raised another concern. The parkway's traffic light on Highway 41 would sit only 0.3 miles from the intersection of Bessemer Road, Joe Rouse Road and Highway 41. Councilmember Tinkey described how hard the decision was for him:
"I can't tell you how hard the decision was for me because I'm all about green."
About 50 people attended the July 22 state hearing, and Live 5 reported that most opposed the project, citing stormwater and tree removal.
What the plan means for the trails you already walk
County officials and Mayor Haynie have said the plan affects 1.3 percent of the park's 745 acres and no existing trails. The County's July 14 presentation to the Town says the design team confirmed there would be no impact to the Laurel Hill trail. The design was also adjusted to reduce tree clearing near Riverview and to move shared-use paths so more trees are preserved. So far, no public document gives a date for tree work in the park or a plan for parking or trailhead access during construction.
The schedule is also still a projection. The County's July 14 timeline aimed for bid advertisement in September and a contract award in October or November. The Post and Courier reported that the County was still waiting on four Army Corps and state permits. The paper laid out the sequence after that: a bid period of about 45 days, about three weeks to award, and construction roughly 90 days after award. That puts groundbreaking in early 2027. The County's online Highway 41 project resources page still says construction will begin in "late 2026." As of the end of September, the County's open-bids portal didn't list a Highway 41 solicitation.
Where Laurel Hill fits in the trail network
The parkway path isn't the only new link planned near the park. On May 6, 2026, the Town broke ground on the Kenny Mile Trail, a 1.25-mile multi-use path. It will connect the Park West Trail system to Porcher's Bluff Road and link to the recently finished All American Boulevard shared-use path. The trail runs mostly inside the Mount Pleasant Waterworks easement and sits more than 60 feet back from U.S. Highway 17. It includes more than 360 feet of boardwalk over freshwater wetlands, the first boardwalk anywhere in the Mount Pleasant Way network. It's named for Kenny Seamon, and it's being built as a public-private partnership with the Kenny Mile Foundation. The Town expects construction to finish by summer 2027.
Put the two projects together and both sides of Laurel Hill gain a connection. The Kenny Mile ties the Park West trail system to the south. The Laurel Hill Parkway path is designed to connect the park's own trails to Highway 41. If both stay on schedule, 2027 is the year Laurel Hill stops being a park you can only reach from one parking lot.
Until then, the park is the same one that opened in 2015. Bring a dollar for admission, bring water, leash the dog, and plan on the Park West trailhead every day except November 7.
If you'd like help following how the Highway 41 and Laurel Hill Parkway plans could affect the homes and streets around Park West and Dunes West, I'm happy to share what I'm watching as permits and bids come through. Michele Moriarty can walk you through it. Let's Connect.
