Mingo and Enloe Creek Falls

Saturday morning, we woke up fairly early. This was the one time this week that we didn’t have to break camp first thing in the morning as we were staying here for two nights. From camp, we headed towards Cherokee on US-441 and turned onto Big Cove Road right past Oconaluftee Visitor Center. In about 5 miles, we turned onto Mingo Falls Bridge Road and parked at the trailhead for the waterfall. It’s only a quarter-mile to the falls, but requires climbing more than 100 stairs. It was quite cold this morning so a quick climb helped warm us up. The trail ends at an overlook across Mingo Creek with a view of the falls. Mingo Falls is probably over 100 feet.

It didn't have a high water flow this morning, but is quite beautiful nonetheless. The main flow of water was cascading down the left side of the rock face, but there were a number of thin streams of water on the right side with a delicate, stringy look. It was really beautiful. We climbed out on the rocks to get some pictures then headed back.

We continued up Big Cove Road back into Great Smoky Mountains National Park and parked at the trailhead for Hyatt Ridge Trail. Our goal was Enloe Creek Falls. We tried unsuccessfully to get this waterfall two years ago. There’s no trail to the falls and it’s not shown on any maps. But this time, I had a GPS waypoint and we were determined to get it. We started off by hiking up Hyatt Ridge Trail. It was still cold when we started our hike and I was wearing a sweatshirt to stay warm.

Hyatt Ridge Trail is quite steep and it wasn’t long before I paused to delayer. The trail leads for just under two miles to the intersection with Enloe Creek Trail and it’s all uphill. The foliage along the trail was showing great colors and we took several much-appreciated breaks along the hike to rest and enjoy the pretty leaves. At the top, we turned left to get on Enloe Creek Trail and started hiking down, which made for a much quicker hike, eventually reaching Raven Fork at the point where Enloe Creek flows into it.

Raven Fork Falls, an 8-foot waterfall, is located just downstream of the bridge. Although it's not a big waterfall, the bridge in the background makes for a nice picture.

We crossed the footbridge over Raven Fork and started following Enloe Creek upstream. We were only about a quarter-mile from Enloe Creek Falls and I carefully watched the GPS as we got closer and closer. For a short ways, it would have been difficult to get off the trail due to dense rhododendron, but then there was an opening and we got off trail and started bushwhacking towards the creek. Soon, we could see the waterfall through the trees and I knew we would be successful this time. As we approached the waterfall, we had to go down a bit and cross the creek on a huge log and then climb some rocks up to the base for a good view. A few people who didn’t feel comfortable crossing the log bushwhacked along the side and made it to the top of the falls.

We got some good pictures of the waterfall and played around a bit on the rocks, then started making our way back. We stopped at the campsite by the bridge over Raven Fork to eat lunch and I climbed down on the rocks to get some pictures.

Besides Raven Fork Falls, there are some nice cascades along the creek here.

After lunch, we started hiking back. The climb back up Enloe Creek Trail was strenuous, but the pretty fall colors provided an opportunity for frequent breaks. Once back on Hyatt Ridge Trail, it was all downhill back to the car. It was still early in the afternoon as finding Enloe Creek Falls took less time than expected. So on the way back to camp, we stopped at Oconaluftee Visitor Center.

We browsed the gift store for a few minutes then took a stroll around the Mountain Farm Museum and got some pictures of the old buildings and farming equipment.

The buildings here were originally constructed throughout what is now the park and were taken apart and re-assembled at this site so visitors can get a feel for early life in Appalachia. Across the big open field, we could see a couple of bull elk grazing but they were too far away to get a good picture. I also saw a couple of chickens running around and stopped to get some pictures.

Suddenly, I heard through a megaphone a ranger scream “Step away from the wild animal!” Surely, she couldn’t have been scolding me about getting too close to a chicken. They’re certainly not wild! No, it was some idiot getting too close to the elk. And he was completely ignoring the ranger. She repeated her command to back away from the elk, but he didn’t listen. Finally, another ranger in a vehicle with sirens and flashing lights sped across the field, ultimately scaring the elk back into the woods. I couldn’t see how it was resolved, but I certainly hope the guy got a citation for that. After that, we headed back to camp and made an early dinner, then headed to Clingmans Dome with a plan to watch the sunset from the highest point in the park. We drove up Newfound Gap Road and turned onto Clingmans Dome Road. As we approached the peak, it got cloudier and cloudier and by the time we parked, we could barely see five feet in front of us. So much for a nice sunset. But we were already here, so we made the short hike up to the summit and climbed to the top of the tower.

There were no panoramic views from up here, but it had a spooky feel being right in the dense clouds. We stopped at the top of the tower for a few minutes, but there was no point in waiting until sunset since we certainly wouldn’t see it, and so headed back to the car. Driving back to camp, we got out of the clouds and could view the sun’s last moments in the sky as we drove back down US-441. We made a nice big campfire to stay warm and had drinks with our friends for the evening and then went to bed.