Table Rock trail is one of our annual favorites. It is a 2000 feet climb and a round trip of about 7 miles and is a strenuous hike. However for your effort you get a trail which has a creek, waterfalls, forests, great views and a variety of trail surfaces. There are not many trails that have it all but Table Rock Trail does.
There are about 5 good scenic views as you hike this trail. Each of them will give you a completely different outlook of mountain ranges and plains. When you get to the top of the mountain marked by a large Table Rock sign with the elevation don’t stop there. After about another 1/3 mile you will come to a rock outcrop on the right which gives a tremendous view of the South Carolina Piedmont. A great lunch stop after a serious climb. After this work your way along the trail a little further and around to the other side of the mountain and you will come to another incredible view which displays Table Rock reservoir and the NC mountains.
This hike is best done in the Spring and the Fall. In the summer it will be too hot and humid to make a strenuous climb and in the winter the various rock outcrops could be very slippery.
Table Rock State Park has good facilities for camping and this park is also an access point for the Foothills Trail. The nature center has a great collection of snakes if you are not too squeamish.
More information about Table Rock State Park is available at their website.