November 29, 2022
Chattooga River Trail South from Burrell's Ford
near Mountain Rest, SC
A beautiful day for a hike with sunny skies and mild temperatures. The trail was in fair to poor condition with the trail showing continued heavy use. There is significant deterioration especially along several of the shoreline sections with extensive root exposure and erosion from use and rain. The is some evidence of attempts to repair and control these conditions, but with wet conditions, as today, care must be used in one's footing. However, the trail is passable and we did not find any fallen trees blocking our path. We did not hike all the way to the intersection with the Big Bend Trail as planned. King Creek Falls was still quite impressive and worth the stop. The Chattooga River, although a bit low in flow, provided numerous beautiful views and pleasant background sounds of rushing water during our hike.
The route
5.0 mi · 587 ft climbing · 3h 51m out, 2h 44m walking · 1.8 mph moving
Elevation
Hover over the profile to see the elevation and steepness. Your position will be shown on the map.
- Steepness
- Gentle under 5%
- Moderate 5–10%
- Steep 10–15%
- Very steep over 15%
Photos (17)
Just one of many great views along the Chattooga River, Today's hikers (L-R) Back: Ken, Renee, Jenny, Angela, John & Mike; Front: Gerald, Vic, Terre, Don & Gary Getting ready at the Burrell's Ford trailhead. Nice trail signs although the path on the Foothills/Chattooga River Trail can be difficult to find at intersections with other side trails. From the trailhead, the first part of the trail is quite good. This fall/winter display from a Wild Hydrangea along the path to King Creek Falls caught my eye. While not a tremendous flow today, King Creek Falls is still worth the stop. A colorful display from Foam Flower along the King Creek Falls trail. One of many Chattooga River views today. Both the Chattooga River and Foothills Trails share this path. More views along the Chattooga River. Watch your step! Still not the worst trail conditions we encountered. Some nice rock overhangs along the trail. No, Gary is not drunk, just the effects of a panoramic photo. Thanks for waiting. Comparing Terre's to my GPS logs, our advanced hikers spent 37 more minutes waiting during this hike!. The great lunch rock extending out into the Chattooga River. Lunch time! A final view upriver from the lunch rock.