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South Carolina trails · Ellicotts Rock Trail

Ellicotts Rock Trail

A 5.3-mile out-and-back in South Carolina, with 796 ft of climbing. Reaches Ellicott Rock.

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Length
5.3 mi
Elevation gain
796 ft
Difficulty
Hard
Max grade
21%
Steepest mile
+611 ft
Tread at ≥10% grade
1.5 mi
Shape
out-and-back
Surface
Ground
Bikes
no
Horses
no

Elevation profile

2,146 – 2,942 ft12345

The climbing leans toward the middle third: 52% of the ascent falls between mile 1.8 and mile 3.6. It gives back about 860 ft along the way, so it rolls rather than climbing steadily.

3-D terrain

3-D terrain view of Ellicotts Rock Trail

USGS 3DEP ELEVATION × ESRI WORLD IMAGERY · VERTICAL ×1.5

Reaches

Heads up

Stream ford: expect at least one unbridged crossing.

Getting there

ELLICOTT ROCK WILDERNESS WEST — parking nearby. 35.01689, -83.14150 · directions

Daylight at the trailhead

On August 31, 2026 — the day this page was generated — first light reaches this trailhead at 6:38 a.m., the sun rises at 7:04 a.m. and sets at 8:00 p.m., and the last usable light fades about 8:26 p.m. (EDT) — 12 h 57 min of daylight. At about 2.7 mph plus 30 minutes per 1,000 feet of climbing, the 10.7-mile round trip takes roughly 4 h 45 min, so leaving the trailhead at sunrise puts you back around 11:49 a.m. — 8 h 12 min before sunset.

Across the border

Nearby trails