Monday, July 23, 2018
DuPont State Forest - a little off the beaten path but a great destination.
DuPont is situated less than 20-miles from
Hendersonville, NC which is due south of Asheville. From Asheville give yourself 75-minutes to
get there. Most of the drive is on two-lane roads.
From the ranger station there is a well maintained, well marked, 3-mile
trail that takes you to two beautiful waterfalls and a nice covered bridge. The trail is relatively clear of roots and
rocks allowing you to actually enjoy the surroundings and not constantly
looking at your foot placement.
High Falls, at 125-ft is the first waterfall you will encounter by taking the trail counter-clockwise. Go past the fall’s view point on the main trail about 50-yds to take a path down to the bottom of the fall. To get your best view you may need to get your feet wet or bushwhack through some muddy shrubs.
A little over a mile further up the trail is Triple Falls. There is a nice stair case with several landings taking you down to the ledge of the lowest tier of the falls. The ledge is roped off denying actual access to the water, but you are close enough to get the spray. The climb out is 122-stairs. Take the spur trail toward Hooker Falls and you can take a path to the water for wading.
There are covered picnic areas situated throughout the park and we saw a couple people fishing and others swimming down stream from the falls. The loop trail from Triple Falls takes you back to the ranger station through the woods.
This is a great hike for families. The park is dog friendly. I understand that in winter when the falls freeze it is gorgeous.
