PAUL GALBREATH Cascading waterfalls and beautiful fall scenery lie within a couple hours driving distance for Upstate residents interested in escaping to the outdoors for the weekend.

Frequent hiking and camping adventures over the past 18 years have prompted Paul Galbreath of Central, S.C., to create the Upstate South Carolina recreation map. His interest in map making and the outdoors grew out of his experiences exploring the Upstate area while he attended Clemson in the early 1990s.

His degree in graphics from Clemson led to a job making contour lake maps for Kingfisher Maps, a cartographic publishing company.

“This opened the door to the world of cartography and a love of maps,” Galbreath said. “Early on in my time here I came to appreciate the beauty of this area. I wanted to make a map that covered the area I often escaped to on the weekends.”

The map highlights points of interests like Table Rock, Stumphouse Tunnel, Raven Cliff Falls and Paris Mountain in South Carolina. Out-of-state destinations listed on the map include the Dillard House in Georgia, Cashiers and the Highlands in North Carolina.

The back of the map contains an extensive listing on waterfalls, lakes, trails and historical sites.

“I put on one sheet of paper the locations of just a few of the wonderful places our Upstate and neighboring areas have to offer,” Galbreath said. “I gave it my own flavor by putting on the map places I enjoy going.”

For example, Galbreath mentions favorite places to eat like the Carolina Smokehouse BBQ and Spanky’s Backyard BBQ. He writes a short note on safety tips to follow when whitewater rafting, walking near waterfalls and eating in areas filled with wild animals.

“Do not trust animals you do not know,” Galbreath writes. “Don’t eat too much barbecue or eat too many boiled peanuts...you know who you are.”

Galbreath said he hopes to publish a second edition of the map. He is interested in receiving feedback on how the map can be updated to make it better.

Additional information about the map can be found at the Web site: www.upstatemaps.com.