We had a few dozen blooms for Lily Fest yesterday, with new flowers coming out daily and numbers slowly increasing. Blooms should continue to increase until the first week in June. This should be "peak" this year. We won't see the typical blanket of white blooms as we would in a "normal" year, but the blooms will be more in clusters. Please check back for more updates as things progress.

Stretched along the Catawba River on the South Carolina fall line, Landsford Canal State Park is home to the well-preserved remains of the canal system that made the river commercially navigable from 1820 to 1835.

The Catawba River is home to the largest known stand of the rocky shoals spider lilly, a flower species found predominantly in the Southeast. Peak bloom season for the rocky shoals spider lily is during May and June.

Favorite activities in this Piedmont park include picnicking, nature watching and studying the canal structures. Fishing is permitted along the Catawba River, and a paddling trail runs through the park for canoes and kayaks.

Want more paddling? Check out the Edisto River Canoe and Kayak Trail at Colleton State Park.