South Carolina trails · Lake Whelchel Trail
Lake Whelchel Trail
A 6.5-mile loop in South Carolina, with 53 ft of climbing. Reaches Lake Whelchel.
Length
6.5 mi
Elevation gain
53 ft
Difficulty
Moderate
Max grade
10%
Steepest mile
+53 ft
Tread at ≥10% grade
0.0 mi
Shape
loop
Surface
Ground
Bikes
yes
Horses
no
Elevation profile
Essentially flat — no sustained climb anywhere along its 6.5 miles.
3-D terrain
USGS 3DEP ELEVATION × ESRI WORLD IMAGERY · VERTICAL ×1.5
Reaches
- Lake Whelchel (lake)
Heads up
Stream ford: expect at least one unbridged crossing.
Daylight at the trailhead
On August 31, 2026 — the day this page was generated — first light reaches this trailhead at 6:32 a.m., the sun rises at 6:58 a.m. and sets at 7:55 p.m., and the last usable light fades about 8:20 p.m. (EDT) — 12 h 57 min of daylight. At about 2.7 mph plus 30 minutes per 1,000 feet of climbing, the 6.5-mile route takes roughly 2 h 25 min, so leaving the trailhead at sunrise puts you back around 9:23 a.m. — 10 h 31 min before sunset.
Loop options
- Lake Whelchel Trail — 6.5 mi loop, 544 ft gain
Nearby trails
- Browns Mountains Trail — 15.0 mi
- CCC Trail — 16.3 mi
- Woods Ferry Horse Trail — 29.0 mi