The Georgetown Outdoor Adventure Trails Program introduced two new Compass Navigation Courses this week. The courses are designed help both adults and kids learn or enhance navigation skills, as well as enjoy the outdoors.
The trails are located at 8 Oaks Park on Highway 521 in Georgetown and Stables Park off Petigru Drive in the Pawleys Island area. G.O.A.T. is a program introduced this year by Georgetown County Parks and Recreation with the goal of getting people to “join the herd” and get moving and exploring outdoors.
The goal of the Compass Courses is to have hikers use a compass for navigation and determination of distance. The courses are approximately .6 miles in length and are beginner level courses. Hikers will need to use their compasses to locate waypoints installed along the courses. The waypoints are metal squirrels with a letter on them. Once a waypoint is located, it provides details on the direction and distance to the next waypoint. Participants can use a traditional compass or the compass on their smart phone to navigate the courses.
Course instructions and a list of waypoints are located in a map box at the beginning of each navigation course.
Parks and Recreation staff have scheduled hours next week to be on site on the courses to offer assistance to anyone who needs help navigating the trails. Staff will be at 8 Oaks Park April 2 from 1-3 p.m. and at Stables Park April 3 from 1-3 p.m.
“This is a great outdoor activity for the entire family,” said T.L. Staub, trail coordinator for Georgetown County Parks and Recreation. “Compass navigation is a helpful skill for people of every age to learn for exploring the outdoors.”
For questions or more information contact Georgetown County Parks and Recreation at 843-545-3275 or email tlstaub@gtcounty.org.