South Carolina trails · Pinnacle Pass Trail
Pinnacle Pass Trail
A 9.1-mile out-and-back in South Carolina, with 1,444 ft of climbing. Reaches Little Pinnacle Mountain.
Elevation profile
The climbing leans toward the final third: 46% of the ascent falls between mile 6.1 and mile 9.1. It gives back about 1,729 ft along the way, so it rolls rather than climbing steadily.
3-D terrain
USGS 3DEP ELEVATION × ESRI WORLD IMAGERY · VERTICAL ×1.5
Reaches
- Little Pinnacle Mountain (summit)
Heads up
Getting there
Hospital Rock Trail access — parking nearby, restroom. About 56 min drive (28 mi) from Greenville. 35.12560, -82.57220 · directions
Daylight at the trailhead
On October 14, 2026 — the day this page was generated — first light reaches this trailhead at 7:09 a.m., the sun rises at 7:35 a.m. and sets at 6:56 p.m., and the last usable light fades about 7:22 p.m. (EDT) — 11 h 22 min of daylight. At about 2.7 mph plus 30 minutes per 1,000 feet of climbing, the 18.2-mile round trip takes roughly 8 h 11 min, so leaving the trailhead at sunrise puts you back around 3:45 p.m. — 3 h 11 min before sunset.
Loop options
- John Sloan Trail + Pinnacle Pass Trail + 6 & 20 Connector Trail — 7.0 mi loop, 458 ft gain
- 6 & 20 Connector Trail + Pinnacle Pass Trail + Rim of the Gap Trail — 10.6 mi loop, 1,720 ft gain
- Frank Coggins Trail + Naturaland Trust Trail #14 + Pinnacle Pass Trail — 10.7 mi loop, 2,931 ft gain
Nearby trails
- Jones Gap Trail — 0.0 mi
- Rim of the Gap Trail — 0.0 mi
- Mountain Bridge Passage Trail — 2.9 mi
- Raven Cliff Falls Trail — 3.8 mi