The hike traverses through a variety of forests including ridgeline hardwoods with great winter views and open low undergrowth conifer forests along the Chattooga valley.  There are opportunities for backpacking in the area with campsites along the Chattooga River.  Also enjoy fishing in the mountain creeks and rivers along the  Chattooga and the East Fork (of the Chattooga) Rivers.

The trail begins at the Burrells Ford US Forest Service Campground parking lot (el. appx 2100 ft) within the Chattooga River Valley.  The loop quickly ascends and within a few miles tops out along Medlin Mountain (el. 3100 ft - limited winter views).  It then descends down to Chattooga River East Fork valley and then back to the starting point. 

To get to the trail head parking area, travel from Walhalla SC 8 miles north on SC 28 and bear right onto SC 107 for 10 more miles.  Then bear left onto Burrells Ford Road (gravel) and follow the gravel road approximately 2 miles and park on the left in the gravel parking area.  The trail begins on the opposite side of the gravel road from the parking area.  From this same parking lot you can also visit King Creek Falls, a short 0.5 mile hike.  That hike starts in the parking lot.  See map below for more directions to that falls.

Trail Summary (note - trail distances are approximate): The trail begins across the road from the parking lot for the Burrells Ford Camping Area.  Below is a trail summary with approximate distances in miles.  We recommend following the loop in a counter clockwise direction climbing Medlin Mountain first.  Otherwise a lot of the climb is done via the paved road from the hatchery.