Tourism and Recreation

     

     

    “Teams/fans discovering the area’s attractions through sports-related visits. Use tax funds to invest in/expand that message and capture the audience to generate return visits.”

     

    There is clearly a lot that can be capitalized on when it comes to tourism and recreation in Pickens County, from the natural resources and attractions to festivals and athletics. The weaknesses/threats listed largely had to do with doing more to promote those attractions.

     

     

    Strengths and Opportunities

    • 123 connects cars—use corridor for trail: Greenville–>Easley–>Clemson–>Seneca
    • Airport
    • Athletic facilities
    • Beautify and expand Doodle Trail
    • Beer – new venues (ale house/pint station)
    • Bike park
    • Clemson University
    • Develop downtown Easley (art gallery, shops, and  restaurants)
    • Doodle bike park
    • Doodle Trail (4 responses)
    • Gateway to Anderson/Greenville and mountains
    • Great outdoors activities—great fairs, arts, Fall for the Arts, Azalea festival
    • Hagood Mill
    • History (2 responses)
    • Jocassee Gorge
    • Lakes
    • Many natural attractions
    • More downtown restaurants/entertainment in the downtown areas
    • Mountains and lakes are a great asset
    • Natural beauty
    • Natural resources and features (2 responses)
    • New SWU/Town of Central competitive mountain bike trail
    • Our natural topography
    • Parks and trails
    • Pickens County Performing Arts Center
    • Recreation opportunities—we have a lot of pieces that should be put together similar to Oconee County’s PRTM (parks, recreation & tourism management)
    • Rivers and lakes
    • Small town feel
    • Table Rock
    • Teams/fans discovering the area’s attractions through sports-related visits. Use tax funds to invest in/expand that message and capture the audience to generate return visits
    • The opportunities of parks across the county
    • Tourism money from grants to enhance towns to be destination places with unique reasons to visit
    • Tourists become second home purchasers, who become new residents, who ultimately become investors in new businesses—create the pipeline
    • Upcoming Pickens County race series and future cycling series

    Threats and Weaknesses

    • Bike/ped access connecting living areas
    • Cities have massive visual clutter (strips) not cohesive
    • Cohesive Wayfinding for sites in Pickens County. Clemson, Pickens, Easley have Wayfinding, but not Pickens County.
    • Embracing the digital age of communication
    • Fear of zoning
    • Hwy 123 intersection at Hwy 133 needs concentrated improvement—not band-aid
    • Lack of coordinated or county programs for recreation for all ages and many interests along with sustainable funding
    • Lack of county-level leadership
    • Lack of facilities
    • Lacking promotion
    • Liberty is center of the county between growth from Clemson and Easley/Greenville
    • Liberty should be center of recreation facility/tourism beause it is the center of the county and can attract from Oconee County
    • Limited signage and advertising for natural attractions
    • Need a unified county approach to tourism
    • Need to clearly identify all the great places to see with signage, website, social media to market tourism = growth
    • No non-auto paths to tourism sites
    • No tourism or notable destinations
    • Pickens County does not seem to have a uniform vision
    • Roads in Pickens County—condition of existing roads, planning for new roads
    • Sunday beer sales
    • Trash pick-up along major thoroughfares