South Carolina trails · Ridge Trail
Ridge Trail
A 1.9-mile out-and-back in South Carolina, with 851 ft of climbing. Reaches Panther Gap and other pass/summit destinations.
Length
1.9 mi
Elevation gain
851 ft
Difficulty
Moderate
Max grade
30%
Steepest mile
+559 ft
Tread at ≥10% grade
1.2 mi
Shape
out-and-back
Bikes
no
Horses
no
Elevation profile
The climbing is spread fairly evenly along the route.
3-D terrain
USGS 3DEP ELEVATION × ESRI WORLD IMAGERY · VERTICAL ×1.5
Reaches
- Panther Gap (pass)
- Pinnacle Mountain (summit)
Heads up
Terrain graded T2 (SAC scale).
Daylight at the trailhead
On August 31, 2026 — the day this page was generated — first light reaches this trailhead at 6:36 a.m., the sun rises at 7:02 a.m. and sets at 7:59 p.m., and the last usable light fades about 8:25 p.m. (EDT) — 12 h 57 min of daylight. At about 2.7 mph plus 30 minutes per 1,000 feet of climbing, the 3.8-mile round trip takes roughly 2 h 15 min, so leaving the trailhead at sunrise puts you back around 9:17 a.m. — 10 h 42 min before sunset.
Loop options
- Ridge Trail + Pinnacle Mountain Trail + Mill Creek Pass — 8.0 mi loop, 1,021 ft gain
Nearby trails
- Stool Mountain Trail — 1.1 mi
- Table Rock Trail — 1.2 mi
- Pinnacle Mountain Trail — 1.3 mi
- Sassafras to Ceaser's Head Spur Trail — 2.9 mi