Keg Creek Trail

Dogs Unknown

Keg Creek Trail is part of the Bartram Trail, but locally it's better known as Keg Creek Trail. It's easy to make it into a short, pleasant loop using the bridge over the Clarks Hill Lake on Highway 47.

The trail follows twists and dips through the woods along the shoreline of the Clarks Hill Lake with few long climbs, being entirely between 350 and 500 ft (however, the total elevation gain is 795 feet!). There are several creek crossings; most of them are relatively easy; a few are more challenging.

The trail surface is dirt, although expect heavy leaf and/or pinestraw cover in places and watch your speed in the curves accordingly. There are a lot of exposed roots as well and you can expect the occasional downed tree; depending on how recently trail maintenance has occurred. The trail is all under forest cover, but the large area between the two major creek branches has recently been logged. You can see the logged area from the trail, and at times it gets very close to the trail bed, but the trees directly surrounding the trail bed haven't been cleared.

The first major creek you'll cross is Dickey Branch near the southernmost reaches of the trail. Keg Creek is crossed near the westernmost reaches. There's a large rock in the middle of the Keg Creek that you can run across.

Overall, this is a fun trail that is easy and short enough for novice runners, but it can keep more experienced runners interested, too.

No signs of kegs in or near the creek though, but maybe bring a cold one for afterwards.