I decided a couple of days ago I wanted to write about waterfalls this week, so I’ve had this song stuck in my head since then:
Now it can be stuck in your head too. You’re welcome.
I think I mentioned before that last May we bought a place in Brevard, North Carolina. Brevard is in Transylvania County, and Transylvania County is known as the “Land of Waterfalls” according to their county website because there are somewhere in the neighborhood of 250 waterfalls inside the county borders. We been to several of them, but we have a loooong way to go to see them all. I can assure you we will make a good run at it, and you can expect plenty of waterfall content in these pages as we visit them.
Some of the waterfalls are quite famous, appearing as backdrops in movies, and that is not surprising at all considering how picturesque they are. This week, I want to talk bout four of them located in DuPont State Forest both because they are quite easy to get to and because you’ve likely seen them already and don’t know it. I know February is not always thought of as a “hiking month,” but spring is coming friends, and you’ll want a some time to make travel arrangements.
Today’s waterfalls are Bridal Veil Falls, High Falls, Triple Falls, and Hooker Falls. All four waterfalls are easily accessible, and High Falls, Triple Falls, and Hooker Falls are even accessible from the same parking lot.
Movie-wise, these waterfalls are best known for their parts in the 1992 film The Last of the Mohicans starring Daniel Day Lewis. Remember the river canoe chase scene? The waterfall the canoes go over near the end is Hooker Falls.
Bridal Veil Falls features prominently in that film as well. The waterfall serves as the backdrop of the characters’ journey to a hiding place in a cave behind a waterfall. You can see the characters walk behind Bridal Veil’s upper fall, but the cave itself only existed on a nearby sound stage.
If you are into learning about filming locations of popular movies, here is a fun compilation of the Western North Carolina film locations used for The Last of the Mohicans.
The first movie in the Hunger Games series was also filmed predominantly in Western North Carolina. Triple Falls is the setting for the scene where Katniss finds the injured Peeta camouflaged in the rocks and boulders at the base of one of the falls. The video of that scene won’t imbed for me, but you can watch it on YouTube here.
Here is another fun video of the Triple Falls area following shot by shot the scene where Katniss runs up the river looking for Peeta.
Now that you know the movie context, you really need to visit Dupont State Forest and see the falls for yourself.
Bridal Veil Falls is an easy 4.6 mile loop hike. You can find the All Trails information here.
The Peeta Camouflaged As a Rock scene is at the base of the middle falls. There is a trail down to it.
Hooker Falls is a super easy hike, and the pool at the base of the falls is a favorite swimming hole for the locals. The All Trails description of the .8 mile round-trip hike is here. If you park at the Hooker Falls Trailhead, you can easily hike to Triple Falls and High Falls from the same spot. This trail is steeper, but it’s wide and easy to follow. You can find the All Trails description here. With the exception of Bridal Veil Falls, my photos are from mid-October, and that’s a beautiful time to visit.
Dupont State Forest is between Brevard and Hendersonville about 45 minutes south of Asheville and is extremely popular since it is both a hiking and mountain biking destination, so the parking lots at trailheads fill up fast. We’ve learned to get there early in the morning or after 4:00 in the afternoon to make sure we can get a spot. It’s totally worth an early wake up for sure!
Get out and chase some waterfalls!
A little temperature blanket knitalong update: January is in the books and was mostly blues with some greens and two taupey rows for temps right at and below freezing. I hope any knitalongers are enjoying their projects as much as I’m enjoying mine.
Bonus photo: this is the dock where the weather data I’m using is gathered on Atagahi Lake. It’s about a half mile as the crow flies from our house. This is from moon rise a few months ago.
Wishing a Happy Valentine’s Day next week to all who celebrate.
Until next time,
Karla
Great pics and descriptions. I love The Last of the Mohicans, and recognized the falls in your first pic right away.