Walhalla · SC-130, SC-413 & SC-107

The curvy corner of the Cherokee Foothills in one loop, all in South Carolina: from Walhalla the route takes SC-11 and SC-130 north, turns west on SC-413 past the Wigington Overlook above Lake Jocassee, and comes back south on SC-107 through the Sumter National Forest, past Oconee State Park, and on SC-28 by Stumphouse Tunnel. It's 45 miles. It turns before SC-130 and SC-107 cross into North Carolina, and the gravel Burrells Ford Road isn't part of the route.

From Walhalla the route heads north on SC-11 and SC-130 toward the Jocassee Gorges, then turns west on SC-413, a short connector to SC-107. Along it, the Wigington Overlook has a small lot and a view over the clear water of Lake Jocassee and the Blue Wall. The turn matters: farther north SC-130 becomes North Carolina's NC-281 and SC-107 runs on to Cashiers, so the loop stays in South Carolina. The gravel Burrells Ford Road, off SC-107, and the Duke Energy gate road to Lower Whitewater Falls, open in daylight only, aren't part of the route.

SC-107 runs south through the Sumter National Forest, under the trees and with curves, past Oconee State Park, which the Civilian Conservation Corps began building in 1935 on worn-out farmland. The route comes back on SC-28 past the Yellow Branch picnic area and Stumphouse Tunnel: work on the tunnel began in 1856 for a railroad over the mountains and was abandoned in 1859 after 1,617 feet of the planned 5,863; from the 1950s to the 1970s Clemson aged blue cheese inside it. The city of Walhalla runs the tunnel park, open from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.