PLANNING SOURCES / OCTOBER 6, 2026
Know what your outline includes.
The Conservancy publishes a 77-mile trail. We reference FarOut’s 76.2-mile trail mileage and mileposts for 15 matched named camp areas because FarOut is the hiking app recommended by the Foothills Trail Conservancy. Use the full FarOut guide for detailed hike planning and navigation. The map uses a 72.12-mile OpenStreetMap mainline selected from relation 4572989. A named picnic-area spur and a dead-end branch were excluded; no new connecting geometry or elevation was added. It is a general planning overview, not navigation data or an official mileage guide.
Main-route review / October 6, 2026.
The route was checked for connected source edges and screened against the Conservancy’s published access coordinates and Forest Service main-trail geometry. Access points follow the expected order, but parking areas and boat landings can be off the main trail. This review supports the broad corridor; it does not verify every junction, reroute or campsite. The 72.12-mile mapped distance and published 77 miles remain unreconciled. We have not assumed the difference is made up of side trails or stretched the map to match it.
Open route data.
Route data © OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL 1.0. Download the adapted route database (GeoJSON). Western portions were screened against USDA Forest Service trails (CC BY 4.0); that dataset covers only part of the trail. Differences remain and neither source certifies current on-the-ground alignment.
Estimated terrain elevation.
The profile uses public-domain USGS 3DEP elevation samples queried along the OpenStreetMap route at roughly quarter-mile intervals, plus every campsite’s nearest route point. It is terrain elevation near the route, not a surveyed tent-pad height. Daily elevation gain sums uphill changes in these samples within each selected leg and rounds to the nearest 50 feet. Sampling can miss smaller climbs; these are estimates, not surveyed ascent totals. Overnight areas are selected to balance daily mileage between camp mileposts referenced from FarOut, the Conservancy-recommended hiking app. Climbing estimates are displayed for each day; they are not a difficulty or fitness score. The elevation chart’s distance axis is interpolated between matched camp mileposts; map coordinates and original terrain samples are unchanged. The route’s alignment and mileage limitations still apply. USGS elevation service · Download elevation samples and source records.
Approximate campsite areas.
Selected community-mapped locations come from OpenStreetMap, with source IDs, versions and timestamps preserved in the downloadable dataset. FarOut mileposts were cross-checked against user-supplied guide screenshots on October 6, 2026. Area matches are approximate: Burrells Ford uses a campground access reference; Toxaway and Rock Creek include multiple pads; the Laurel Fork name correspondence is provisional. The list is a selection; positions, legal access and availability require confirmation. Sandy Beach and Simms Field were added October 11, 2026, using mapped campsite positions and the saved screenshot mileposts. Simms Field represents the nearby sites at miles 65.2–65.3 from Table Rock. Whitewater Campsite was cross-checked October 11, 2026: its mapped campsite position is paired with the FarOut milepost of 32.0 from Oconee (44.2 from Table Rock). Check the Conservancy’s camping restrictions for the nearby Hwy 281–Bad Creek corridor.
Finish planning with current sources.
Use the Conservancy overview, camping and logistics guidance, current notices, and FarOut guide to choose actual overnight stops. Regional forecasts: National Weather Service.
Wildlife and safety, added October 18, 2026: the Conservancy’s FAQ on food storage, hunting and emergencies; BearWise on bear encounters; SC DNR on snakes and mountain hunting seasons; the NC Wildlife Resources Commission’s season dates; the American Hiking Society on hiking in hunting season; and the CDC on tick bites.
Data © OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL 1.0. Online maps request tiles from USGS or OpenStreetMap. Trip dates and preferences stay in this browser; they do not sync between devices.