Woodend Park opened on Saturday, July 18, 2026, off Glenn Brandon Road near SC-557. It has 10 designated hiking trails that add up to 2.5 miles through woods and open meadow, plus a gated lot with room for 40 cars. That is all of it for now. The master plan York County approved in 2024 calls for something much larger. The park district's own meeting minutes show that the next phase is being designed while people are already out on the trails. This fall, you are walking the first, trails-only version of a park your neighbors voted to pay for six years ago.
The Version That's Open Right Now
Here are the basics for an October visit. Through the end of October, the park is open from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. On November 1 it switches to winter hours of 7 a.m. to 6 p.m., which run through February. The lot gate stays open during park hours and closes automatically at closing time, so plan to be back at your car before then.
Woodend is a leave-no-trace park. There are no trash cans, so everything you bring in goes home with you. That includes snack wrappers, water bottles, and anything else from a morning walk.
The county's opening notice doesn't say anything about restrooms, dogs, or bikes, and the park's page on the county site didn't load any rules we could check. If any of those will affect your visit, look at York County Parks' posted rules before you go.
The lot holds 40 cars, which fits a park that is all trail for now. The 2024 plan shows how much is still planned.
What the Plan Shows
In March 2024, The Herald described the Woodend concept plan York County Council had just approved. Compared with what opened this summer:
| Feature | Open now | 2024 master plan |
|---|---|---|
| Parking | Gated lot for 40 cars | Grass lot with 400 spaces off Glenn Brandon Road, plus nearly 100 more spaces in gravel lots |
| Trails | 10 trails, 2.5 miles | About three miles in all, mostly crushed granite, including almost a mile of natural-surface trail, some of it steep |
| Gathering space | None listed | Large event lawn, outdoor amphitheater, picnic shelters, bonfire area |
| Recreation | Hiking | 18-hole disc golf course, fishing pond |
| Arts | None listed | Outdoor art exhibit and an art gallery studio with restrooms and a kitchen |
The plan also shows a gravel road leading to a roundabout with a right-turn-only exit onto SC-557. That road is the reason the park's timeline depends on more than park funding.
How the Next Phase Is Moving
The Bethel Lake Wylie Preservation Park District board meets throughout the year, and its 2026 minutes lay out the timeline in order.
- January 2026. The board reported that York County Council had approved a contract with Sossaman Construction to redesign Woodend's infrastructure and trails. Design was expected to take about 90 days. Superintendent Jesse Watson said that once the design is finished, the priorities are an event lawn and shelters along with infrastructure and walking trails. The board's 2026–2027 budget estimate included $2.5 million for capital improvements at Woodend, with County Council expected to approve the budget in June 2026.
- March 2026. Fencing around the parking lot was underway. Trail work was expected to start in late March and tentatively wrap up before Memorial Day. The minutes said public access "may be possible this summer" but depended on road construction and amenity work.
- April 2026. The lot fencing was finished and the trails were roughed in. The county had reached the "red line stage" with Sossaman on the master design. Wider public access was again tied to finishing road work in the immediate area and getting approval for more park funding.
- July 2026. The trails and the 40-car lot opened to the public on July 18. The board's July 16 agenda included an item called "Glen Brandon Road Improvements."
- September 2026. The board met on September 24, and the agenda listed a park accessibility update. As of this writing, the county hasn't posted minutes from any meeting after April.
Two questions are still open in public records. One is whether the $2.5 million estimate was approved as written. The other is what the finished Sossaman design includes. The board's January priorities, the event lawn and shelters, are the best sign of what will be built first.
The road work is the other factor. SCDOT's road conditions table lists a widening project on SC-557 from just east of Cross Road to Battery Circle. It started January 19, 2024, and its anticipated opening date is June 30, 2027. In 2024, The Herald reported that the widening would trim the Woodend property and remove part of the road's bend just west of Oakridge Middle School.
Who Paid for It
Woodend didn't start as a county park project. It started with a vote. In a 2020 referendum, 68% of Lake Wylie voters approved a new tax to buy and conserve land, capped at $20 a year per $100,000 of property value for owner-occupied homes.
In November 2021, the new district closed on 87 acres across SC-557 from Oakridge Middle School for $4.3 million. The South Carolina Conservation Bank contributed a $1 million award toward the purchase. The Van Every family, whose name is tied to the Lance cracker company, had owned the hilltop home and land for decades. The house had been empty for about 10 years. The property once operated as a greenhouse and nursery called Woodend Farm, which is where the park's name comes from. A July 2026 news report put the land cost at $84 million. The 2021 closing coverage gives the price as $4.3 million.
The district owns more than Woodend. The Goat Farm is a 6.8-acre site at 3972 Hands Mill Highway near the Five Points intersection. Its 2024 concept plan includes a farmers market vendor area with restrooms, a garden, a nature-based play area, a shelter, an outdoor stage, and a one-third-mile walking trail. As of July it was still under development. The board has already held events there this year, including the Naked Goat Market in April and a food truck event in June. The board itself meets at Field Day Park, 1101 Field Day Lane. That 32-acre complex in the Paddlers Cove community has ballfields, six pickleball courts, a playground, and walking trails.
Filling Out a Fall Weekend Around It
The district's trail-only park works best combined with the county parks around it, and several have dates on the calendar this month.
Saturday, October 17: Catawba Bend Preserve
York County is holding a public grand opening at Catawba Bend Preserve, 4134 Catawba Bend Parkway, off Neely Store Road east of Rock Hill. The ceremony starts at 10 a.m., and the park dedications follow at 12:30 p.m. New features include 10 miles of mountain bike trails, an 18-hole disc golf course, and a 9-hole course. In January, the park district board also proposed a fall pet adoption event for October 17. The minutes describe that theme as proposed only, so check for a confirmed listing before you plan around it.
Saturday, October 24: Allison Creek Park
The 2nd Annual Fall Festival at Allison Creek Park, 2499 Viesta Road in York, runs from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. It's listed with music, hayrides, a craft vendor market, and food trucks.
Saturday, October 31: Ebenezer Park
Ebenezer Park, 4490 Boatshore Road in Rock Hill, is hosting a free Halloween event from 4 to 7 p.m., with a costume contest and trick-or-treating.
Later in the season
The board's January list also proposed a harvest festival on November 21 and a Christmas celebration on December 19. The board also talked about a weekend event at Woodend before Christmas 2026 with an ice skating rink and a holiday village, and Jesse Watson was looking into adding a drone or fireworks show. None of these were confirmed in the records we reviewed. If the holiday village happens, it would be the first big event on a property that, as of the opening notice, still has no event lawn.
If you go to Woodend on a weekday after November 1, plan to be back at the gate by 6 p.m.
If you live near SC-557 and want to know how Woodend's next phase and the road widening could affect your part of Lake Wylie, I'm happy to walk through it with you. Ashley Hannah Murphy keeps up with the park board and the road work so you don't have to. Schedule your free consultation, and we'll talk about your street.
