Jun 4 Spider Lilies at Landsford Canal State Park

 

Rocky Shoals Spider Lily

A weekend trip to Rock Hill area of South Carolina focuses on the Rocky Shoals Spider Lilies at Landsford Canal State Park. In addition to the lilies, the park also has the remnants of an 1820's era canal along the Catawba River. 

The day begins at the paddle put in. NC Outside Adventures has 3 guided paddles daily on weekends from mid-May to mid-June. Ours is 8:30 on Sunday. Normally, this state park would be a ghost town at that time. It would not even be open until 9am except during the Lily bloom. I stuffed my $6 entry fee in the entrance box and headed to the launch spot for the pre-arranged paddle. 

As you can see, we're in inflatable kayaks. NCOA chose these because the short lily paddle traverses a rocky shoals section of the Catawba and these boats are virtually impossible to flip out of. The downside is that they have no tracking. It is easy to spin one of this boats around. And I did several times during the breezy morning. I saw several paddlers unable to keep a straight line. They paddled as if they were on switchbacks. I managed alright but it took lots of effort to keep from getting hung up on shallow rocks, of which there was no shortage. 

The Catawba River begins the the NC mountains, flows into South Carolina and later becomes the Wateree River which in turn flows into the Congaree forming Lake Marion and the Sparkleberry Swamp before forming the Santee. To move goods in the early 1800s to Charleston, a series of enhancements were needed. The 2 mile canal bypassing these shoals is the farthest upstream of the navigation system. 

Before the canal, there was a ford in this area. It was used by the native Americans and early settlers. In 1754 Thomas Land was granted a large tract in this area and the ford got its name. As you can see, it ain't that deep. We even saw a fellow wade his way out into the lilies. Although, you can see the lilies from a land based observation deck, it is not like pulling up next to a bunch and seeing the wonderful details of this wildflower.

Peak bloom looks to have been a couple weeks ago. Rocky Shoal Spider Lilies' range is a swath of land from here across Georgia, into Alabama. They occur only on fast water rocky shoal rivers. Overall, the population is in decline and studies are ongoing to learn more. Clemson University has a program to monitor lily sites and to propagate new sites. 

This lily site is considered the largest site in existence. 

We were a group of 17 paddlers and 4 guides. Why 4 guides? There was very little open water. We were constantly paddling through channels and picking our way through the shoals. Once we had to maneuver almost completely from one side of the river to the other to find a passage through.  Additional guides were needed to make sure everyone got through the tight spots.

Once we're in the lily site, you could not see everyone. Occasionally, you'd see a paddle in the air, or a glimpse (above) of a boat between the lilies. 

Rocky Shoal Spider Lilies are considered emergent, aquatic macrophytes. They are pollenated by lots of creatures. Once seeds are released, they sink and end up caught in a rock crevice underwater where they begin to grow.

One of the causes of population decline is that they are tasty. Deer can wade out in the river and browse. Although, I did not see any which had been browsed. I did see another flowering plant, possibly American water-willow. It had been heavily browsed.

Say goodbye to the lilies

The muddy takeout

After our paddle, we took a walk through the canal ruins. The water drops about 32 feet in the 2 miles of shoals. We saw 3 locks but I've read there were 5. 

The canal was built between 1820 and 1823. The following year, one of the locks collapsed due to a faulty foundation. It was repaired and the canal was used until 1840 when railroads moved goods more efficiently. 

Irish masons from the north were brought in to build the locks and other structures. It is mostly granite rocks used. 

Culverts were needed to allow tributaries to pass under the canal. 

This is the view hikers get of the lilies

Spiderwort 

Phlox

Duke Power donated the land to the state in 1970 to create the state park. Several other tracts have been added since including an old cemetery. We stopped at the cemetery on the drive out. It was surrounded by a stonewall and looked old and well visited. On the drive in, we saw two county deputy vehicles parked beside it. 

Last up, the diversion dam, allowing boats to enter and exit the canal without being swept downriver.