Sliding Rock

by rmajor

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Sliding Rock is a 60 foot natural water slide north of Brevard, NC. It is on Highway 276, a couple of miles up the road from Looking Glass Falls. The Forest Service maintains a recreation area there, and it is a popular destination on hot summer days. I arrived there before the start of the summer season, and recent chilly temperatures meant there were no people sliding down the rock that day.

 

I remember visiting this place with my family when I was a kid and watching my brothers slide down the rock. I was too young and too little to slide down the rock myself, so I missed out on all of that fun. Nowadays I may be too old to risk it.

 

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The view downstream was rather nice as well.

 

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Update: I have been informed by my sister that it wasn’t Sliding Rock we went to when we were kids, it was another place which is no longer open to the public. I may still take the plunge at Sliding Rock anyway. It’ll make up for missing out on sliding at the other place when I was a kid.

Looking Glass Falls

by rmajor

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Looking Glass Falls is a 60 foot waterfall a few miles north of Brevard, NC. It is a roadside waterfall, and the parking and observation area beside Highway 276 makes it one of the most easily accessible waterfalls.

 

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I was very fortunate in the timing of my arrival. Recent heavy rains had increased the water flow over the falls, and created a heavy mist. A normally dry observation deck near the base of the falls was getting drenched. The heavy mist combined with a late afternoon sun to create a rainbow. It was fascinating to watch the changes in the rainbow as the mist swirled.

 

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Eastatoe Falls

by rmajor

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Eastatoe Falls is a 60 foot waterfall near Rosman, NC. It is on private property, and that made me a little leery of going there. However, various postings on the internet assured me that the owners do allow access to the falls, so I took the plunge and went. I’m glad I did. This is an exceptionally beautiful waterfall, and being there at a time of high water flow made it even more so.

 

I hope that anyone who chooses to visit this waterfall will be respectful and considerate of the property and its owners by not littering or going too early or late in the day. The owners are very generous in allowing public access, and I would hate to see that revoked.

 

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Waterfalls At Living Waters

by rmajor

 

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Living Waters is a Christian retreat north of Rosman, NC, in the community of Balsam Grove. They own a stretch of land along the North Fork French Broad River. A quarter mile trail on their property gives views of 3 named waterfalls and 2 unnamed falls. Before hiking the trail, ask for permission to visit the falls, which the staff is gracious about giving. They do discourage hiking alone, so it’s best to have somebody with you.

 

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 French Broad Falls from above.

 

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And below.

 

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Shoal Creek Falls

 

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French Broad Falls and Shoal Creek Falls are right next to each other at the head of the trail. It is a rare treat to see two beautiful waterfalls so close to each other.

 

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Continuing on down the trail rewards the hiker with many pleasant views of the river, as well as the unnamed falls.

 

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At the end of the trail is Cathedral Falls, also known as Birdrock Falls. This the view of the top of the falls.

 

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And from below.

 

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The view downstream of the falls.

 

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The rock cliff above the falls.

 

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Hello Jim!

 

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The smiling face of a man who loves being around waterfalls.

 

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This beautiful flower bed on the property caught my eye.

 

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Courthouse Falls

by rmajor

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Courthouse Falls is a 45 foot waterfall located about 10 miles north of Rosman, NC. It can be reached by driving up Highway 215 to Forest Service Road 140, then driving 3 miles out FS 140 to the trailhead.

 

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The drive out FS 140 is itself very beautiful, as it runs alongside Courthouse Creek for most of the way. The view from the first bridge I crossed was so nice that I promptly pulled over to make some pictures. The scenery was lovely in both the upstream and downstream directions.

 

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About midway we came upon a bridge, I guess you could call it, that went through the creek instead of over it. I do not recommend crossing this in any vehicle that doesn’t have much ground clearance. Getting on the bridge was like driving over a tall curb.

 

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On the return trip I left my camera with Jim and had him make some photos of me making the crossing with my van. Jim was following me in his truck, so between us we forded the stream in a Dodge and a Chevy.

 

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I made this photo at the parking area at the trailhead. There were other nice views as we followed the trail alongside the creek to the falls.

 

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.2 mile down the trail an unmarked side trail led down to the waterfall.

 

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The view downstream of the falls.