AIKEN --- Good Friday proved to be a perfect Friday for the Aiken Driving Club and the Silver Bluff Audubon Center.

Dressed in fine riding gear, drivers and their polished carriages and groomed horses rode more than seven miles of trails at the 3,154-acre site for the second annual Audubon Coach & Carriage Drive fundraiser.

"It only takes one time to go through the Audubon to realize what a lovely spot this is to invite coaching," said Jack Wetzel, the organizer.

After a trip to the Audubon last year, Mr. Wetzel set to work to share his find with friends in Aiken.

This year's drive attracted more than 120 participants.

"With the Hitchcock Woods, you kind of forget there's anywhere else you can ride, but it's a horseman's heaven," Mr. Wetzel said.

The Audubon serves as one of six protected sites in South Carolina where nature remains intact as it was hundreds of years ago, said Norman Brunswig, the executive director of South Carolina Audubon.

Though the site meets budget every year -- more than half coming from Audubon timber sales -- fundraisers such as the carriage drive elevate the site's profile and raise essential money to keep educational programs operating.

"In the broader context, the growth and land use is rapid and profound," Mr. Brunswig said. "People are moving South, and the wild lands and farm lands are turned into shopping malls. But we have one here; you don't have to go to the mountains to enjoy this."

Throughout the year, the Audubon offers programs such as bird and butterfly counting to bring in local visitors, but the carriage drive has attracted out-of-state riders.

"It's just phenomenal," said Elizabeth Cummings, of Aldie, Va. "We use farms for picnic drives like this in Virginia because there aren't any places like this available. Here we go right by the Savannah River. It's not restricted out here, it's just a wonderful event."

The day's prized moment for many riders was a new trail that swept along the Savannah River, where freshly burned ground made the scenery more visible.

"I kept thinking I was going to see a steamboat ride by," Mr. Wetzel said with a laugh. "I think I would pay someone next year just to have it go by. This place is evolving, and there are lots of possibilities for the future rides."