Westminster Area Waterfalls

For the Labor Day long weekend, we planned a waterfall-hunting expedition to the high country of South Carolina, near the borders with Georgia and North Carolina. We had a target of 15 waterfalls, all of which had different trailheads spanning three counties, so we definitely had our work cut out for us. So we started very early Friday morning, leaving from the Chapel Hill area around 6 in the morning. We crossed into South Carolina along I-85 later in the morning, stopping at the Visitor Center and picking up a few brochures to help us in locating the waterfalls. Just past the Visitor Center, we saw Peachoid, a water tower shaped like a peach (although it kind of resembled a very orange butt). We got off I-85 near Greenville and continued towards the upcountry region, taking US-76 past Westminster towards the small community of Long Creek. We turned on Damascus Church Road, then Battlecreek Road, and finally the gravel Turkey Ridge Road (FS755) into the Andrew Pickens Ranger District of Sumter National Forest. Grace had picked up a map of South Carolina that indicated this is the general area where the movie Deliverance was filmed… But we were undeterred. We followed this forest road to a parking area a couple of miles back and continued hiking down the road to a fork that followed an old logging road for a mile or so, approaching the Chattooga River. There are no signs at the trailhead or anywhere along the trail, but shortly before the waterfall, there was a sign indicating that we had entered the Chattooga Wild and Scenic River area. Past here, there was a steep, but short trail down to the falls, which were just above where Long Creek flows into the Chattooga River.

It’s a nice 25-foot cascading waterfall with two distinct water flows.

We stopped for a few minutes to get some pictures and crawl around on the rocks, before heading back up to the logging road to head back to the car. Along the way back, we saw a little green snake and a cute orange toad along the trail.

Back at the cars, we headed back up Turkey Creek Road just a short ways to the trailhead for Opossum Creek Falls, our next waterfall. There was a sign here for the Opossum Creek Trail, which is about 2.5 miles one way to the falls. Although the temperature was not that hot, it was extremely humid, making the hike more difficult than expected. And we were heading down to the river on the way out, so it would be even tougher heading back. The trail winded through the forest and followed Camp Branch down towards Chattooga River. We could hear a waterfall or cascade along Camp Branch, but didn’t try to bushwhack down to see it. When we reached the river, we saw a couple of NOC rafts along the shore where some rafters had stopped to take a break and see the falls.

Only the guide was waiting with the boats. As we continued on towards the waterfall, we crossed Camp Branch and then followed Opossum Creek upstream, passing the large group of rafters coming down on the narrow trail. Shortly, we hit the falls, a very beautiful large cascading waterfall with an upper section of cascades that was difficult to see through the foliage.

Although the hike was strenuous (and much more so on the way back), the waterfall was beautiful and definitely worth the hike.

When we were done here, we made our way back down to the river and then the grueling hike back up to the road. By the time we got to the car, we were all drenched in sweat and looking forward to the drive to the next waterfall in air conditioning. I did notice some trees whose leaves were beginning to change; not something I'd expect to see in August.

From here, we got back on US-76 and got off on Brasstown Road, going a couple of miles on this road past where it changes from paved to gravel. We turned right on FS751 and parked at the end. It’s a short hike to Brasstown Falls and we really got a lot of waterfall for our effort here. Brasstown Falls itself actually has three sections.

The first is a beautiful large cascade that levels off and then plunges down a 20-foot or so freefall, followed by a narrow chute.

We hiked around all three sections of the falls, taking pictures, enjoying the views, and getting a little wet to cool off.

Then we started to hike back and shortly past the top of the upper section, I could see what looked like a pretty big waterfall through the trees. This was Little Brasstown Falls, a bonus waterfall for the day. There was a small creek blocking access, but a downed tree provided a way across without having to wade. Little Brasstown Falls is a very pretty cascading waterfall and definitely worth the quick detour to stop and see it.

When we finished here, we made our way back to the parking area and stopped to ask some people who were just pulling in about where we could find a good place to eat. They suggested Brasstown Creek Gathering Place BBQ, which was just up Brasstown Road right after it changes from gravel back to pavement. We pulled into the parking lot of the big log cabin building and headed in what looked the front door. One of the servers, recognizing it was our first time, directed us to the line to order at the other side of the building and we placed our orders. We mentioned that we would be camping near Riley Moore Falls and a woman in line behind us offered to let us camp in her yard and make breakfast. She had 300 pounds of sausage in the freezer. I wondered to myself if that’s what’s left of the last people she let camp in her yard. We politely thanked her for her offer, but said we were on a tight schedule and needed to camp near the falls. The BBQ was very good and they had some great sauces. I tried Hot and St. Louis, both of which were very tasty. When we finished dinner, we took advantage of the flush toilets and running water before heading to our campsite. We had planned to hit Riley Moore Falls today, but it was getting late and we decided to wait until morning. Since we were camping nearby, it wouldn’t add much time. According to the US Forest Service, there is a primitive Riley Moore Ford Campground, following FS748B off Spy Rock Road (FS748). However, the road is really worn out and there was a steep spot that was muddy. Jim was convinced his Jeep could make it down and back up, but certainly the Camry couldn’t. So we went down FS748C and camped near the waterfall instead. We parked just before sunset and quickly set up our tents before dark, going to bed shortly after the sun went down. We were all exhausted after a very long day. Unfortunately, it was still hot and humid even after the sun went down and so we didn’t get a great night’s sleep.