The Foothills Trails (FHT) travels 76 miles through the southern reaches of the Blue Ridge Mountains in Upstate South Carolina and into Western North Carolina. Heading west to east, the trail begins at Oconee State Park and continues to Table Rock State Park. Because of its southerly location, it provides a nice opportunity for spring and autumn backpacking.
I have known about the Foothills Trail for years. Since I have been living in West Virginia, I have been prioritizing trips in the Southeastern United States. I contemplated hiking the trail in the spring of this year, but closures due to Hurricane Helene and then wildfires led me to the Benton MacKaye Trail instead.
Jeff Mitchell, with whom I hiked the Laurel Highlands Hiking Trail in June, mentioned he was going to hike the trail this fall. When I reached out to him, he invited me to join him and his friend Josh Batten on the trail at the end of October. Josh had previously thru hiked the Colorado Trail and a LASH of the Long Trail. I happily accepted the invitation.
We planned on starting the hike on October 22nd. Jeff picked up Josh at the Asheville Airport and we would meet at Table Rock State Park. Our plan was to start the trail the next morning at the Western Terminus in Oconee State Park. At the last minute we decided to start the hike that night.
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| Western Terminus |
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| Mile 0.0 |
Day 2
Campsite at Mile 3.6- Campsite near King Creek Falls
12.4 Miles
We were all surprised at how late sunrise came. The official sunrise wasn't until about 745AM. It was still completely dark at 7AM. Around 715AM the first light of twilight weakly began to illuminate the sky. Jeff and Josh got out of camp about fifteen minutes before I did.
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| Hiking through rhododendrons was pretty common |
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| Looking at the tree canopy |
The trail passed through a mix of mostly hardwoods and rhododendrons. Over the first few miles we reached a few waterfalls. The first marked waterfall, Harvey Falls, barely had a trickle. Then we reached a side trail for Pigpen and Licklog Falls. Pigpen Falls was easier to reach. Licklog Falls was taller and more impressive, but could only be seen from above due to dense rhododendron cover at its base.
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| Pigpen Falls |
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| A small drop along Pigpen Falls |
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| Licklog Falls |
Leaving the falls, we soon reached the Chattooga River. The Chattooga River stands as one of the real highlights of the FHT. The trail follows near or along the river for miles and never disappoints. The clear water of the river flows through a quiet forest away from roads. The river is made up of numerous pools with stunning rapids. Several spots along the river offer a sandy beach. At times, the trail follows directly along the river banks. Interestingly, the other side of the river is Georgia. The river is the boundary between South Carolina and Georgia here. We took our lunch break along the river.
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| First view of the Chattooga |
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| The Chattooga is very clear |
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| Narrow shoot on the river |
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| Rapids on the Chattooga |
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| Sandy beach along the river |
It's easy to linger along the Chattooga River. In warmer weather, numerous pools looked perfect for a swim. It was probably only in the 60s however, and the water was quite cold. Sections of color were starting to show on the trees as well.
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| Jeff passing under a cliff near the river |
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| Another nice rapid |
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| The FHT sure has a lot of steps |
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I nearly ate it on mossy rocks
dropping down to take this photo |
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| The trail following the riverbank |
We decided to take it easy on our first full day on the trail. Josh hadn't been on trail much this year and didn't want to push to0 hard with 5-6 days of food in our packs. We camped along King Creek at a site surrounded by rhododendrons after about 12.4 miles. A Forest Service campsite sat not too far from our site and we saw our first people of our trip after 16 miles of hiking.
Once we set up our camp, we made a short trip on a side trail near our campsite to King Creek Falls. King Creek Falls is well worth the side trip. The waterfall plunges about 70 feet. I wasn't expecting such a tall waterfall. It's quite a sight and it was nice to have the waterfall as an easy side trip from our campsite.
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| King Creek Falls |
With darkness arriving not much later than 7PM, we were early to bed. The roaring water of King Creek provided a nice soundtrack for the night. Nestled in a sheltered area along the creek, the morning was quite chilly. This was our coldest night. I'm guessing the temperature dropped into the 30s.
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| Our tents by King Creek |
Day 3
Campsite along King Creek- Whitewater Campsite
16.0 Miles
I was happy to get moving in the morning. Leaving the campsite, the trail started to climb as it left the Chattooga River. This helped warm me up after the chilly start. The trail eventually makes it way over 3,000' in elevation. The trail had been pretty so far, but mountain views were pretty limited. The first real vista came about twenty or so miles from the start with a view towards the cliffs of Whiteside Mountain in North Carolina.
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| Bridge over King Creek |
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| The trail through hardwoods |
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| Whiteside Mountain |
After the Whiteside Mountain view, the trail drops back to the East Fork of the Chattooga River. The East Fork is much smaller than the main branch and more of a creek. We enjoyed a few more waterfalls. Hiker's Peril Falls drops 25-30' on a small tributary. Hiker's Peril Falls was reduced to a trickle. The East Fork had good flow. Several small waterfalls could be reached by short, unmarked trails. The one was quite steep and had webbing tied to a tree for an extra handhold.
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| Yep, we're still on the right trail |
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| White blazes mark the FHT- like a mini AT |
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| Cruising on a leafy trail |
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| Hiker's Peril Falls |
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| Falls on the East Fork of the Chattooga |
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| Smaller cascade on the East Fork |
We stopped for a break at a campsite along the East Fork. The trail climbs back over 3,000' after leaving the campsite. The FHT crosses into North Carolina as it makes its way up Grassy Knob. There are a few partial views of the lakes below. At a sharp switchback, the trail reaches a mostly unobstructed view. You get a nice look at the mountains to the east as well as a northern arm of Lake Jocassee.
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| Headed into North Carolina for now |
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| A partial view through the trees of Lake Jocassee |
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| I think this is part of Jocassee |
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| Looking to the east |
Leaving Grassy Knob, the trail descends for several miles. The FHT reaches one of its most stunning features, Whitewater Falls. The falls are made up of several distinct drops that make the highest multi-tiered waterfall in the Eastern US. The upper falls are easily accessed by a short side trail with multiple viewing platforms. The upper falls drops over 400' and is quite stunning in person. Because of the massive size of the falls, the viewing platforms are as close as you can get. From the FHT, be prepared for lots of stairs between the viewing areas. The lower viewing area provided a better look at the falls. Don't expect solitude at Whitewater Falls. The area is accessible by road with only a short walk from the parking lot. Either way, Whitewater Falls is among one of the biggest highlights of the FHT. The lower falls are also accessible from the FHT but require a much longer side trip to access. We didn't go to the lower falls.
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| Whitewater Falls from the upper platform |
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Upper Whitewater Falls from the lower
viewing area |
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A wider shot of the falls with some of the
foliage showing color |
After enjoying Whitewater Falls, the trail drops fairly steeply to the Whitewater River. The FHT crosses the river and follows it for a while as it dips back over the border into South Carolina. The corridor along the Whitewater River is closed to camping. Resist the urge to set up your tent at the numerous flat spots along the river.
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| Whitewater River |
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| A bridge over the Whitewater River |
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| Rocky section of the river |
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| Downstream from the bridge |
Our destination for the night was the Whitewater Campsite. The campsite sits about a half-mile from the river. I was the only one of the group with a stove, so I stopped at the river to cook where the trail leaves the Whitewater. It wasn't clear if the campsite had water. Jeff and Josh continued to the campsite where I would meet them after my dinner.
It turned out the campsite had a cistern with plenty of water. Either way I enjoyed my meal by the river. There was another thru hiker at the campsite that was headed in the opposite direction. It was the first time we had another hiker camp with us. We saw several groups of backpackers throughout the day.
Day 4
Whitewater Campsite- Toxaway Campsites
16.6 Miles
Soon after leaving the campsite, the trail crosses the border once again into North Carolina. The trail started out pretty enough. We had at least one view through the trees. The highlight of the morning was Hilliard Falls. The falls are accessed by a short trail off of the FHT. Even though the creek's volume was rather low, the 70' waterfall still is pretty.
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| The trail near the Whitewater Campsite |
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Every now and then you would get a nice
viewing window through the trees |
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| Hilliard Falls |
We enjoyed Hilliard Falls for a few minutes before moving on. The trail begins a somewhat steep drop as it approaches the Horsepasture River. Between the falls and the river, we crossed the halfway point of the trail.
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| Rhododendron tunnel |
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| Lots of logging road on the middle part of the trail |
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| Halfway |
The Horsepasture River is one of the lower elevations of the trail. While the river itself is fairly pretty, it marked a transition. The trail climbs quite steeply from the river. This might be the steepest elevation gain on the trail as it climbs about 1,000' in just over a mile. Much of the elevation comes on wooden steps. The FHT likes to utilize steps in steep sections. Most climbs involve long stretches of steps, and this climb has one of the longer sections of steps.
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| Steps dropping under a large rock outcropping |
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| Bridge over the Horsepasture River |
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| Upstream on the Horsepasture River |
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| The river below the bridge |
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| Steps climbing from the river |
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Looking down the steps toward the bridge
over the river- most of the steps on the trail
weren't a staircase like this |
After the steep climb up the steps, the trail undulates without any really significant elevation changes. The FHT enters Gorges State Park. Through here, the trail utilizes old dirt and logging roads. The roads are relatively easy to travel, but the scenery wasn't as impressive as other sections up until this point.
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| Gorges State Park |
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| More travel along logging roads |
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| Bright green ground cover along the trail |
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| A rock overhang along the trail |
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If nothing else, the logging roads were easy
on the feet |
The trail approaches the Toxaway River at the head of Lake Jocassee. The trail loses a lot of elevation quickly as it approaches the lake. Of course, this involves more steps. After a quick but unexpected climb, the trail finally reaches the river at a massive suspension bridge.
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The mouth of the Toxaway River at
Lake Jocassee |
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| Suspension Bridge over the Toxaway River |
Still in Gorges State Park, you are required to stay in designated tent sites with earthen platforms. We found a spot on the lake. Unfortunately because of water fluctuations for hydropower, you couldn't really get to the water of the lake. Thick mud blocked the water from the shoreline. The view down the lake by out site was quite pretty nonetheless. We had to backtrack a couple minutes to a creek to get our water for the night. Quite a few other backpackers filled the various tent sites. It was now Friday and we started to see more backpackers on the trail.
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| Mudflats along the lake at our campsite |
Day 5
Toxaway Campsites- Big Rock Campsite
17.1 Miles
We didn't have much time to ease into the hike after leaving camp. I don't know if we made it a 1/4 mile before the trail left the lakeshore and began it's climb up Heartbreak Ridge. Heartbreak Ridge rises over 300' in short order. Like most steep climbs on the FHT, there are steps. Nearly the entire climb to the top of the ridge climbs steps. This steep climb isn't called Heartbreak Ridge just for the steps and elevation gain though. After less than a mile on the ridge, you lose all the elevation you gained as you drop back down to Rock Creek at lake level.
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| The start of Heartbreak Ridge |
Despite the hype over Heartbreak Ridge, I didn't find it all that bad. It was such a short section- not even a mile. The only issue was that it came within a 1/4 of our campsite first thing in the morning. It was a quick warmup. The descent off the ridge, while steep, didn't seem quite as bad. It didn't seem to have as many steps.
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I read there are 300 steps
climbing the ridge here |
Once off of Heartbreak Ridge, the trail skirts the shores of Lake Jocassee a couple more times. A nice campsite sits along the lake here. Unlike the Toxaway Campsites, you can actually get to the lake here. You are treated to a pretty view over an arm of the lake. The FHT reenters South Carolina just after dropping off of Heartbreak Ridge.
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| Bay on Lake Jocassee near Rock Creek |
Like much of the trail over the past day, it follows long stretches of old logging roads as it leaves the lake. Soon after leaving Heartbreak Ridge, the trail actually climbs higher than it did on Heartbreak Ridge and once again loses all the elevation it gained. The elevation change is much more gradual though as it gained and lost 500' over about four miles. This section was a little frustrating at times. The trail would leave a logging road, parallel the road for a few hundred feet on singletrack trail, only to rejoin the road again. This seemed to happed often on this stretch.
Once the trail drops back down, it approaches another arm of the lake, but doesn't quite take you to the water. You get a view of Laurel Fork Falls. Unfortunately this is the best view you get from the FHT of the 80' waterfall. It seems to get the prime view of the falls, you have to approach it from the lake via kayak or canoe.
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| Laurel Fork Falls (Jeff's photo) |
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| The FHT along a rock outcropping |
We hike a short distance beyond the view of the falls to a campsite for water. The campsite sits at the top of the falls. You can look over the drop at the top of the falls, but the best view of the waterfall was from afar. We hiked a little further and reached a busy trailhead. Most of the people at the trailhead seemed to be fisherman and trailers with UTVs.
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| Looking down from the top of Laurel Fork Falls |
The FHT generally follows Laurel Fork Creek for a few miles. The trail crosses the creeks numerous times as it goes from one bank to the other. Theis section had a lot of blowdowns and damage. I'm not certain, but I think it may have been the result of Hurricane Helene. Generally the debris was cleared off the trail, but the surrounding forest was a mess with downed trees. I found a lot of black birch along here. I picked a bunch of branches to chew on while I hiked.
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One of the few place where vegetation encroached
the trail a little bit |
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| Lots of blowdowns near the Laurel Fork |
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| This may be remnants of Helene damage |
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This was one of the longer sections
on the FHT with noticeable damage |
The trail started to climb more noticeably as Laurel Fork Creek approached its headwater. We took a short break at a campsite with benches. Soon we reached another waterfall, 25-30' Virginia Hawkins Falls. Like several other waterfalls we passed, the flow wasn't too strong, but the falls is still worth visiting since it's a few feet off the trail. The falls drops over a cliff with a series of narrow falls across the cliff rather than one wide stream of water.
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| Virginia Hawkins Falls |
We had been slowly climbing over the last five to six miles, gaining about 1,200'. The trail traveled close to dirt roads. The roads had a fair amount of UTV traffic. You could hear the vehicles at times, even if they weren't visible. At one point we reached a poorly marked detour there the trail washed away on a steep bank. There was flagging marking a bypass but no signage. We hiked through the washout only to see it marked on the other end of the bypass.
The FHT reaches a dirt road that drops to a large trailhead. From the trailhead, the trail continues to follow the road until it reached US 178. This was the first and really the only section of the FHT that followed a road open for vehicular traffic.
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| Nice section with some color |
We took a break along the side of US 178. The trail uses a road bridge to cross a creek. Since water sources looked scarce on FarOut comments for the rest of our day, we filled up on water at the creek. We weren't too sure if we would have water at our campsite.
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| Less than 15 miles left |
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| Steps enroute to Sassafras Mountain |
From the road, the FHT climbed steadily for three miles, gaining about 1,500'. We camped at Big Rock Campsite, just below the summit of Sassafras Mountain. There was a small creek flowing, just barely deep enough to gather water. At roughly 3,200', this was by far our highest campsite on the trail.
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| A small window of a view along the climb up Sassafras |
As its name implies, the Big Rock Campsite is marked by a large rock along the trail. The spot wasn't too bad, but it did sit just below the road to the summit of Sassafras Mountain. Now, later in the day, there wasn't much traffic, but you could see the vehicles that passed by on the road. At one point we could hear a drone flying overhead. Fortunately the drone soon left.
The morning . We were forecast called for clear skies. Only a 1/2 mile or so from the summit of Sassafras, we decided to get up early to try and catch a sunrise from the observation tower on the summit. It seemed reasonable given the sunrise didn't come until 745AM.
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| A little color along the climb |
Day 6
Big Rock Campsite- Table Rock State Park (Via Table Rock Mountain)
12.8 Miles
I woke up a little after 6AM. The sky was still starry. I could see light coming from Josh's tent. I could hear snoring coming from Jeff's tent. I decided to say a few "cock-a-doodle-dos." That was enough to get Jeff stirring. We started hiking around 710AM. By now the stars seemed to fade as clouds moved in. We made it to the summit pretty quickly.
At 3,554', Sassafras Mountain stands as the highest mountain in South Carolina. An observation deck stands at the summit providing 360-degree views. For a few feet the trail cuts back into North Carolina before reaching the observation deck. The summit sits directly on the state line and is marked on the observation deck. It's kind of a novelty to stand with one foot in each state.
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| Straddling the border on Sassafras |
There was some nice color to the East as the sun started to rise. The clouds thickened though and the sunrise wasn't as spectacular as we hoped. When we first arrived it was still fairly dark. It was neat seeing the lights in the valley. Since a road reaches within a few hundred feet of the summit, the mountain is a fairly popular spot with people hoping to see a sunrise.
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| Sunrise color |
Even without the stunning sunrise we were hoping for, the views are quite nice from the summit. Lowlands and lakes sit in the valley below to the south. The higher mountains of North Carolina stretch out to the north and west. Even the mountains of Eastern Georgia are visible with the state's second highest summit, Rabun Bald, clearly visible.
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| Looking south from the summit |
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| Sea of mountains |
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| A long ridgeline on the horizon |
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You can see the clouds that
hampered the sunrise |
From Sassafras Mountain, about ten miles of the FHT remain to its Eastern Terminus. While the trail obviously loses some elevation since it's leaving its high point, for the most part, the FHT stays relatively high as it follows the ridge leading away from Sassafras. At the higher elevation, the foliage had more color. The trail in general was pretty nice with a good mix of colorful leaves and several rhododendron tunnels.
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| Homestretch- final ten miles |
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| Some color below Sassafras |
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| Nice rhododendrons along the ridge |
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| More color in the leaves |
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| Hiking into the rhododendron tunnel |
As the trail headed closer to Table Rock State Park, the FHT passes through several burn areas. Multiple large wildfires over the past five years, including a 10,000+ acre fire this past March, burned in the area. The damage from the fires is quite visible with lots of charred trees and less undergrowth along the trail.
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| Hiking through the burn area |
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| The trunks of the trees were still black |
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| View through the trees |
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| View from a burned area |
Even with the obvious scarring from wildfires, the area is not without pretty scenery. Since the forest was more open, there were several varieties of wildflower still blooming along the trail. The sparser vegetation allowed for some open views of the valley and surrounding mountainside.
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| Open trail in an old burn |
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| Aster |
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| Goldenrod |
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| Black-eyed Susan |
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| Phlox |
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| Gentian |
As we approached the boundary of Table Rock State Park, the FHT passes near a few open vistas from rock outcroppings. These views were among some of the best of the entire trail. We passed at least three open ledges with good views.
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| Vista just before entering the state park |
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| Entering Table Rock State Park |
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| Good views to the west |
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| Nice view just past the boundary of the state park |
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| Tickseed |
We eventually reached a crossroads below Pinnacle Mountain. The FHT descends to its Eastern Terminus here. It's also possible to continue along the ridge to the summit of Table Rock Mountain. Josh opted to descend on the FHT, while Jeff and I decided to extend our trip a few more miles with a more scenic finish.
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| Rocky trail enroute to Table Rock Mountain |
Jeff and I hiked a little over three miles to the summit of Table Rock Mountain. The trail was fairly rugged at times as it scramble up sections of rocky and open slabs. Much of the area passed through remnants of the wildfires.
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| Steep slab |
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| Jeff working his way up Table Rock Mountain |
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| Tomcat making his way up a slab |
It's possible to extend the trip a little further by dropping down to another bench with views of Table Rock Reservoir. We turned around at the summit though and enjoyed the views over the lakes near the State Park Nature Center at the Eastern Terminus.
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| Summit of Table Rock Mountain |
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| View by the summit |
There are good views from near the summit. The best views are from the open ledges on the way back down the mountain. From the summit, the trail drops more than 2,000' back down to the Eastern Terminus of the FHT. The descent from the mountain on the Table Rock Trail was much rougher than anything on the FHT, with lots of rocky sections. Unlike the FHT, there were no wooden steps.
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| Fall color and fire damage visible from the summit |
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| Looking down a slab at cliffs below |
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| View across a slab toward Sassafras |
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| Dropping down another slab |
As we descended, we came across a few more views into the valley. At one point the trail passes a small shelter for day hikers with a nice view. What surprised me most was the amount of people we passed going both up and down Table Rock Mountain. It's quite clearly a popular hiking destination.
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| The lakes that sit at the Eastern Terminus |
As we approached the end of the Table Rock Trail, we passed a few small waterfalls. We rejoined the FHT near the trailhead as it came in from our right. Jeff and I reached the Eastern Terminus just before 2PM.
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| Small waterfall on Green Creek |
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| The end of the journey |
The official Foothills Trail distance measures in at 76.2 miles according to the Foothills Trail Conservancy. With our added trip to Table Rock Mountain at the end and additional side trips to waterfalls and views, our trip probably clocked in at just over 80 miles. While there are some steep sections, most of the climbs on the trail aren't too steep or long. The tread is in pretty good shape and generally not too rocky. Overall I'd consider the FHT a moderately difficult hike given its length.
We really lucked out for this trip with weather. We didn't have any precipitation during the hike. I was surprised that we didn't even have dew any of the mornings. For the most part the temperatures were probably in the 60s in the day with the lows in the 40s with the coolest night most likely dropping into the 30s. The temperatures were near perfect for a comfortable hike. It rained earlier in the day just before the start of the trip and later in the evening after our hike ended.
I was somewhat surprised that the water sources were generally in pretty good shape. It had been a fairly dry late summer. The larger rivers and streams were all flowing solidly. The trail is known for its waterfalls. While the waterfalls along the trail were not at high volume, they were all still quite pretty. Only a couple were reduced to a trickle. Some campsites have cisterns and they generally seemed to have water in them still. I never had to carry more than a liter except where I was anticipating a dry campsite. None our campsites ended up dry though.
The trail seems very well maintained. There were very few blowdowns or sections with brush on the trail. The trail was thoroughly blazed with plenty of signage to avoid confusion at intersection. The Foothills Trail Conservancy does a great job with maintenance. I was surprised at the number of steps on the steep climbs, though steps don't necessarily mean easier climbing. I found the longer stretches of steps more tiring on my calves. The were also some grand bridges along the trail. I was surprised at the nice suspension bridges over some of the rivers and creeks. Nearly every water crossing had a bridge. There are also quite a few officially named and marked campsites with fire rings and benches. Given recent devastation the past year from Helene and wildfires, I'd say the trail was in great shape.
I enjoyed the FHT and wouldn't hesitate to recommend hiking it as a spring or autumn hike. I'd probably avoid the middle of summer since it can be quite hot and humid in this part of the country. My favorite part of the trail was the stretch along the Chattooga River through the Whitewater River. Between the wild nature of the two rivers and pretty waterfalls, its hard to beat this stretch of the trail. The eastern end of the trail had the most views and best foliage. The middle section of the trail followed long stretches on logging roads in nondescript forests. It's not that the middle section of the trail wasn't enjoyable, it just didn't compare to the other parts of the trail. If I had one minor negative to point out, I would say that I was surprised at the lack of wildlife. I don't know if it was the time of year or what, but the wildlife was limited to smaller animals. We saw a handful of toads our first night, a few squirrels, mergansers and ducks on some water bodies, and heard barred owls a few nights. I didn't even see a single deer and hardly any birds.
For more info on the Foothills Trail, visit the Foothills Trail Conservancy
website.
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