Backpack Trail Guide

Trails / South Carolina / Upstate South Carolina

Foothills Trail: Laurel Valley to Table Rock (Sassafras Mountain)

Foothills Trail over Sassafras Mountain to Table Rock State Park, Pickens County

The eastern end of the Foothills Trail crosses Sassafras Mountain, South Carolina’s highest point, and drops over Drawbar Cliffs and Bald Knob to Table Rock State Park. It’s the shortest of the trail’s three backpacking sections, about 13 miles by the Foothills Trail Conservancy’s section figures, but also one of the steepest.

Most of the climbing comes from the Table Rock end. Clay Bonnyman Evans, writing for The Trek, says westbound hikers climb about 3,000 feet in the first 9.8 miles to Sassafras.

The hike

Secret Falls describes the route from Table Rock, starting at the park’s Nature Center and following Carrick Creek toward Pinnacle Mountain. Stay left at the Carrick Creek Nature Trail split (0.3 mile), at the fork to Table Rock Mountain (2.7 miles), and at a yellow-blazed trail (3.8 miles), staying on the white-blazed Foothills Trail. The Treeline Review guide says the trail climbs from about 1,150 feet at the trailhead to the Pinnacle Mountain spur at 3,115 feet in four miles, and that hikers pass Bald Knob, with Blue Ridge views, at 2,849 feet.

Past the park boundary, the trail drops to Drawbar Cliffs and switchbacks down, reaching Hickorynut Mountain Gap around mile 7.8 and the summit of Sassafras Mountain around mile 9.5, according to Secret Falls. Wikipedia gives Table Rock to Sassafras as 8.8 miles, climbing more than 2,300 feet. Treeline notes that the Caesars Head spur, shared with the Palmetto Trail, leaves near the summit.

West of Sassafras, the going eases. The conservancy rates both of the last two sections easy: 2.1 miles to Chimneytop Gap on SC 178, passing Balancing Rock, and 2.1 more past rock outcrops to the Laurel Valley access. A cable helps hikers across a slippery rock face near the Cantrell campsite, Treeline says.

The March 2025 Table Rock fire started in the park and grew to more than 13,000 acres, according to Wikipedia. The conservancy says many wooden steps and bridges burned, and that more trees and branches may fall. It reopened the section from Sassafras to Table Rock in April 2025.

Westbound hikers continue into the Jocassee Gorges section. For trailside camping nearby, see the Mountain Bridge Wilderness loop.

Tips

Camping

Primitive camping is allowed along most of the Foothills Trail with no permit, according to Treeline, but not on the Sassafras summit or in the Table Rock State Park trail system. The conservancy’s FAQ says camping is “expressly forbidden” in the park and that campfires are allowed only in established fire rings at designated sites under normal conditions. Treeline names the Cantrell campsite near Sassafras, and the Lighthouse and Long Ridge campsites as the last tent sites before the Table Rock no-camping zone.

Inside Intel: A hiker named Clint, writing on the conservancy’s site, camped at Drawbar Cliffs and called it “an awesome site,” with views and a sunset from the rocks. A 2008 thru-hiker on Backpacking Light camped at Chimneytop Gap.

Trail facts

The Lowdown

Exposed rock at Drawbar Cliffs:

Drawbar Cliffs camp sits on open rock, and a cable helps hikers past a slippery rock face near Cantrell. We compared the Arc'teryx Beta SL against the Torrentshell 3L and Foray 3L.

Compare the shells →

Where this comes from

This page draws on the sources below, along with other guides and trip reports. Links go to the original pages.

Before you go: This page is based on published trail guides, trip reports, and reviews, along with official park and agency information where we could find it. It’s meant to help backpackers discover new trails, not to replace current, official information. Conditions, closures, permits, campsites, and water sources change, and some details here may be out of date or wrong. Confirm everything with the managing agency and check current conditions before you head out, and don’t rely on this page alone for safety or navigation. Backcountry travel involves risk.