Beyond Table Rock: 25 Hikes Every Pickens County Explorer Should Know About

When people think about hiking around Pickens County, Table Rock is usually the first place that comes to mind. Pinnacle Mountain is not far behind. Those famous trails deserve their reputation, but they only scratch the surface of what you can explore in this corner of South Carolina.

Within Pickens County and the surrounding mountain corridor, you can walk beside trout streams, cross suspension bridges, find hidden waterfalls, climb exposed mountain ridges, wander through wildflower preserves, and disappear into some of the wildest terrain in the Upstate.

Some of these hikes are easy enough for a family afternoon. Others take several hours, require good navigation skills, and demand more preparation. We have explored a growing number of them ourselves, and as we complete individual trails, we continue adding firsthand guides and photographs to PumpkintownSC.

If you are trying to figure out where to hike next, start here.

Which hike should I choose?

For families and newer hikers, choose a shorter trail with something interesting along the way rather than focusing only on mileage. Carrick Creek, Natural Bridge, Twin Falls, and the short Eastatoe Passage hike to the suspension bridge all give you a destination without requiring an all-day trek.

If you want mountain views, look toward Raven Rock, Bald Knob, Table Rock, Pinnacle Mountain, or Sassafras Mountain. Waterfall hunters have Twin Falls, Laurel Fork Falls, Virginia Hawkins Falls, Wildcat Wayside, and several other options.

For something wilder, research Eastatoe Narrows, Laurel Valley, Bad Creek, and the Foothills Trail before leaving home. Those are not trails where I would rely on a phone signal and hope for the best.

Easy & Family-Friendly Hikes

1. Carrick Creek Trail

Carrick Creek is one of the best introductions to mountain hiking around Pickens County. The loop follows the creek through the lower portion of Table Rock State Park, passing bridges, cascades, rocks, wildflowers, and Carrick Creek Falls.

The nice thing about this trail is that something is always happening. Kids don’t have to walk several miles waiting for the payoff because the creek starts offering things to explore almost immediately.

If you are trying to choose between Carrick Creek and the other trails in the park, our Table Rock State Park Trail Guide breaks down the larger trail system.

2. Pinnacle Lake Loop

You do not have to climb one of Table Rock’s mountains to have a good hike. The trail around Pinnacle Lake offers an easier way to enjoy the park, with forest, lake views, mountain scenery, and some of the park’s historic features along the way.

This is one of the trails I consider when you want to spend time outside but don’t necessarily want the hike to take up the entire day.

3. Wildcat Wayside Falls

Wildcat Wayside along Highway 11 is one of the area’s easiest waterfall adventures. The lower waterfall is only a short walk from the roadside parking area, while trails continue farther into the woods toward additional cascades.

It is especially useful for families with younger children because you get to the first payoff almost immediately. Wildcat is also included in our guide to waterfalls near Pumpkintown.

4. Twin Falls / Reedy Cove Falls

Twin Falls near Sunset is one of Pickens County’s classic waterfall hikes. A relatively short forest trail leads to two impressive cascades dropping down the mountainside.

You may also see this location listed as Reedy Cove Falls or Rock Falls, which is helpful to know before searching for directions. Several places in the Carolinas are called Twin Falls, so make sure you are heading to the one near Sunset, South Carolina.

5. Station Cove Falls

Station Cove Falls is a little farther west near Oconee Station, but it’s worth adding to the list for anyone exploring the mountain corridor around Pickens County. The trail offers a traditional forest hike without requiring a major climb and eventually reaches a broad, stepped waterfall.

This is another good progression for families who have outgrown roadside waterfalls but are not ready for a strenuous mountain hike.

6. Natural Bridge Trail

Natural Bridge Trail at Keowee-Toxaway State Park packs a surprising amount into a short hike. The approximately 1.3-mile loop follows Poe Creek through thick rhododendron and passes rock formations, two small waterfalls, and the natural rock feature that gives the trail its name.

Do not assume short means easy. Parts of the trail are steeper and rougher than the mileage suggests.

We have walked this one ourselves. Read our complete Natural Bridge Trail guide before you go.

7. Todd Creek Falls

Todd Creek Falls is one of those destinations that can easily get overlooked when people start listing the better-known waterfalls around Table Rock and Jocassee. The relatively short approach makes it worth considering when you want to add another waterfall without committing to a major backcountry hike.

If waterfalls are your main reason for exploring, our Upstate waterfall guide can help you compare easier stops with longer waterfall hikes.

8. Mill Creek Falls

Mill Creek Falls shows how much water is hidden throughout the mountains around Table Rock and the Jocassee Gorges. Depending on the route and exact waterfall you are trying to reach, this can become a much more involved adventure than the easier waterfall stops on this list.

Research the route before heading out, and don’t assume every waterfall marked on a map has a simple, developed trail leading to it.

Moderate Hikes With Big Rewards

9. Raven Rock Trail

Raven Rock Trail at Keowee-Toxaway State Park offers a completely different experience from the shorter Natural Bridge loop. The route climbs through the forest toward views over Lake Keowee and the surrounding foothills.

The trail system also connects with Natural Bridge and the Palmetto Trail, so pay attention at intersections rather than assuming every trail marker leads back toward the visitor center.

10. Nine Times Preserve

Nine Times is not really one hike. That is one of the most important things to understand before visiting.

Nine Times Preserve and neighboring Nine Times Forest have separate trailheads, creeks, mountains, old roadbeds, wildflower habitat, and more than 2,200 acres of protected land between them. Depending on where you start, you can take a short creekside walk or turn the visit into a much longer mountain hike.

We recently explored the area and put together a complete guide to Nine Times Preserve and Nine Times Forest, including the different trails, access areas, history, hunting considerations, and what we found during our visit.

11. Eastatoe Creek Heritage Preserve

Eastatoe Creek Heritage Preserve takes you into a much wilder side of northern Pickens County. Deep ravines, mountain forest, rare plant communities, and the dramatic Eastatoe Narrows make this a destination for hikers who want something beyond a developed state park trail.

Do not confuse the Heritage Preserve with the Eastatoe Passage. They share the Eastatoe name and sit within the same larger mountain landscape, but they offer different hiking experiences.

12. Eastatoe Passage to the Suspension Bridge

This one earned its place on the list after we finally hiked it ourselves.

Starting from the Dug Mountain Angler Access area, the Eastatoe Passage follows Eastatoe Creek through the forest. The creek is always close, with plenty of places to stop by the water along the way.

Our highlight was the suspension bridge over Eastatoe Creek. It gives the hike a real destination without requiring you to complete the entire 4.6-mile Eastatoe Passage.

My daughter and I crossed the bridge, explored beyond it, got a little confused about where the trail continued, accidentally discovered the Hemlock Hollow Angler Access area, and eventually returned the way we came. That experience taught us something important: the Eastatoe Passage is not a convenient loop.

If your goal is simply the bridge, hike to it, enjoy the creek, cross the bridge, and return the same way. Read our Eastatoe Passage suspension bridge hiking guide for the full firsthand experience.

If the creek catches your attention while you are there, we also created a separate guide to Eastatoe Creek fishing access at Dug Mountain and Hemlock Hollow.

13. Laurel Valley Trail

Laurel Valley takes hikers deeper into the Jocassee Gorges landscape. Streams, dense forest, wildflowers, and rugged terrain make this a very different experience from a short waterfall walk or developed state park loop.

Spring is particularly interesting in this part of the mountains because of the wildflowers, but the remoteness means you should prepare more carefully than you would for a short family trail.

14. Sassafras Mountain Connector Trails

Most visitors to Sassafras Mountain drive almost all the way to the top, walk to the observation tower, enjoy the view, and leave.

Much more mountain surrounds you than the observation platform suggests. The surrounding trail network and connections to the Foothills Trail let hikers experience Sassafras as a mountain, not just South Carolina’s highest roadside viewpoint.

Before you go, read our complete guide to Sassafras Mountain.

15. Roundtop Mountain Passage

The Roundtop Mountain Passage of the Palmetto Trail provides another way to explore the rugged northern edge of Pickens County. This is the kind of trail where the forest and mountain landscape are the attraction, not one famous waterfall waiting at the end.

It is a good choice for hikers who want to move beyond the busiest state park trails and start exploring the larger trail systems crossing the Upstate mountains.

16. Bad Creek Area Trails

The Bad Creek area offers some of the most dramatic terrain around the Jocassee Gorges. Steep climbs, waterfalls, Foothills Trail connections, and remote mountain scenery make this an area where you should know your intended route before leaving the parking area.

This is not a place to randomly choose a trail at an intersection and see where it goes.

Eastatoe Passage or Eastatoe Creek Heritage Preserve?

Choose the Eastatoe Passage if you want a more approachable creekside hike with the suspension bridge as a clear destination. The short hike from Dug Mountain to the bridge and back works well when you only have a few hours.

Choose Eastatoe Creek Heritage Preserve if you are specifically looking for a more rugged wilderness experience and the Eastatoe Narrows. Do not treat the two as different names for the same trail.

And if fishing is your main reason for visiting Eastatoe Creek, start with our guide to Dug Mountain and Hemlock Hollow angler access rather than one of the wilderness hikes.

Challenging Summit Hikes

17. Table Rock Summit Trail

This is the classic Pickens County mountain challenge. Table Rock Trail climbs steadily from the state park toward the enormous granite mountain that dominates the skyline around Pumpkintown.

The summit views are spectacular, but hikers should not underestimate the climb. Heat, humidity, elevation gain, wet rock, and the return trip can turn this into a much harder day than the mileage alone suggests.

If this will be your first attempt, read what beginners usually underestimate about hiking Table Rock Mountain before you start.

18. Pinnacle Mountain Trail

Pinnacle Mountain is higher than neighboring Table Rock, but the summit itself is not necessarily the reason to hike it.

We learned that firsthand during our hike. The route gave us massive rock formations, creek crossings, views of Table Rock, changing weather, wildlife, Bald Knob, and some extremely overgrown sections before we finally reached the wooded summit.

Our Apple Watches recorded roughly 10 miles by the time we finished. Read our firsthand account, Pinnacle Mountain Trail: The Summit Isn’t the Best Part, before deciding whether this is your next challenge.

19. Stool Mountain

Stool Mountain is one of the less familiar names in the Table Rock landscape. Compared with the crowds heading toward Table Rock and Pinnacle Mountain, exploring the lesser-known ridges around the park can feel like an entirely different experience.

I would research this carefully before attempting it, rather than treating it like another clearly marked park loop.

20. Bald Knob

Bald Knob is one of the best rewards along Pinnacle Mountain Trail. The enormous exposed rock provides the kind of mountain view many hikers expect at the summit, which is why it became one of our favorite parts of the entire Pinnacle hike.

You do not need to continue all the way to Pinnacle’s wooded summit to appreciate why Bald Knob is special, but reaching it still requires a substantial mountain hike.

21. Sassafras Mountain via the Foothills Trail

Driving to Sassafras Mountain and hiking to it are two completely different experiences.

Approaching South Carolina’s highest point from the Foothills Trail turns a quick overlook visit into a genuine mountain adventure. This is the option for someone who wants to earn the view rather than park near it.

Remote Waterfalls & Wilderness Adventures

22. Laurel Fork Falls

Laurel Fork Falls is one of the signature wilderness waterfalls of the Jocassee Gorges. The waterfall spills toward Lake Jocassee, but reaching it on foot requires a much bigger commitment than visiting the roadside and family waterfalls earlier on this list.

This is exactly the kind of hike where you need to consider distance, remaining daylight, weather, water, and navigation before leaving the trailhead.

23. Virginia Hawkins Falls

Virginia Hawkins Falls is hidden within the Laurel Fork area and is far less familiar than many of the Upstate’s roadside waterfalls. Its more secluded setting is part of the appeal.

For hikers who have already visited the easy waterfalls and want to explore the deeper Jocassee landscape, places like this show how much is hidden beyond the main highways.

24. Eastatoe Narrows

The Eastatoe Narrows is not the suspension bridge hike described earlier.

This is the rugged Eastatoe experience. The creek squeezes through a narrow gorge surrounded by steep terrain and an unusually rich natural environment. The combination of water, geology, rare plants, and remoteness makes it one of the most distinctive wilderness destinations in this part of South Carolina.

If your first introduction to Eastatoe Creek is our easier suspension bridge hike, think of the Narrows as the much more adventurous next chapter.

25. Foothills Trail Through Pickens County

The final entry is not really one hike at all.

The Foothills Trail stretches roughly 76 miles through the mountains of South Carolina and North Carolina, passing through some of the region’s most spectacular terrain. You do not have to thru-hike the entire trail to experience it.

Several access points allow hikers to explore individual sections and gradually discover the larger Jocassee Gorges landscape.

For many local hikers, that’s a natural progression. Start with Carrick Creek. Hike Natural Bridge. Cross the Eastatoe suspension bridge. Climb Table Rock or Pinnacle. Explore Sassafras. Eventually, those individual adventures begin connecting into a much larger understanding of the mountains around us.

These 25 Hikes Are Only the Beginning

The more we explore Pickens County and the surrounding mountains, the harder it becomes to think of Table Rock as a single hiking destination.

It is really the front door to something much larger.

To the west are Eastatoe Creek, Nine Times, Keowee-Toxaway, Lake Jocassee, Laurel Valley, Bad Creek, and miles of wilderness. To the north are Sassafras Mountain and the Foothills Trail. Around Table Rock itself are waterfalls, lakes, creek trails, overlooks and mountain routes ranging from easy walks to all-day climbs.

And we still have plenty left to explore.

If you want an easier adventure, browse our kid-friendly hiking trails in Upstate South Carolina. If waterfalls are your priority, use our waterfall guide. For everything else, our Hiking & Trails collection keeps growing as we get out and walk these places ourselves.

That is really the point of this list. You do not need to hike all 25. Pick one you have never done, go see what is there, and then come back for another.