Pisgah Forest & Shining Rock Waterfalls

Sunday morning, we woke up and had breakfast at the hotel. Once we were ready, we headed to the Pisgah Center for Wildlife Education and Fish Hatchery, stopping at Subway to pick up lunch on the way. I was worried that the parking area would be full, but fortunately it wasn’t too crowded here.

We started hiking Cat Gap Loop Trail (#120) for about a mile or so to our first waterfall of the day – Waterfall on Cedar Rock Creek.

The waterfall was very scenic and the mountain laurel was blooming all around the falls. Sandy and I spent some time here climbing around on the rocks and getting photos. It's not a big waterfall, but the setting is really pretty.

From here, we got back on the trail and continued a short ways further on Cat Gap Trail. Just past an occupied campsite, we turned right on the blue-blazed Butter Gap Trail (#123). This trail starts out running through Picklesimer Fields where more mountain laurel was blooming. In Grogan Creek, we saw what we thought was a beaver, but he disappeared under the water before we could get a good look. Past the fields, the trail continues to follow Grogan Creek upstream. In about a mile from the start of the trail, we took a short side path to Waterfall on Grogan Creek.

I hadn’t been to this one before, but it was a pleasant surprise. It’s not a big waterfall, but really pretty with the water tumbling down numerous rock ledges.

We got some pictures and then started hiking back. Once back to the cars, we continued on FSR 475 to the gated FSR 5095. We parked here and hiked along the gated forest road. It was about a mile to where the road crosses Long Branch and here we scrambled up a steep path to Long Branch Falls. The water level was lower than the last time I was here and I was able to carefully climb out onto the rocks at the base for some pictures.

Once we were finished, we hiked back to the car. We continued driving FSR 475 until we reached NC-215 and headed north. About 2 miles before reaching the Blue Ridge Parkway, we turned left on FSR 4663 and drove to the intersection with FSR 4663B and parked. We hiked down the rest of this forest road, though we could have probably driven it without a 4WD as the Forest Service suggests.

At the end of this road, there were three paths. We took the path leading straight ahead and followed it to the base of Dill Falls. Another couple was here taking pictures, so we ate our lunch while enjoying the view of the waterfall. By the time we finished eating, the other couple were starting to head back.  I mentioned to them before they left that there is another Upper Falls here in case they were interested in seeing that one too. We climbed around at the base of the falls getting pictures.

Again, the bright sunny day made for beautiful weather, but not so great pictures. It’s a shame, because Dill Falls is a really beautiful waterfall. Once we were done here, we headed back to where the three paths split and took the one to the right (if looking from the end of FSR 4663B) and headed up the jeep mounds. Once the trail leveled off, flagging tape marked a path to the left that led to Upper Dill Falls. This waterfall is not nearly as big as the lower falls, but it’s still quite scenic.

After a few pictures, we headed back and walked the forest road to the cars. We turned left on NC-215, crossed under the Blue Ridge Parkway and pulled off in about a half-mile at a large parking area on the left. From here, we walked down the road a short ways and then ducked into the woods at a Mountains-to-Sea Trail post and entered Middle Prong Wilderness Area. We initially crossed a creek and then crossed over Bubbling Spring Branch. Once across, we turn left to get off the MST and hiked to a campsite. From here, we crossed the creek again and continued to follow it upstream. There were another three or four creek crossings and eventually we just rock-hopped up the creek to the base of Lower Waterfall on Bubbling Spring Branch.

The water cascades down a steep rock face about 20 feet to a pool then slides down a few more feet. The water level was a little low, so I think this would have been more impressive in higher water level. It looked like the first drop would be split into two streams if there was more water. After a couple pictures, we climbed up the left side of the waterfall and then rock-hopped upstream a short ways to Upper Waterfall on Bubbling Spring Branch.

This waterfall slides down a rock face about 30 feet, but again the water level was kind of puny. We got a couple pictures and headed back. I was planning to get Wildcat Falls next, but the camping area at the trailhead was full and there was nowhere to park. So we continued another mile or so to a pull-off at Bubbling Spring Branch Cascades. We parked here, went under the guard rail, and made the steep climb down to creek level. We crossed the creek and came out at the base of the waterfall. For being somewhat visible from the road, this was actually a pretty nice waterfall. I imagine this would be a fantastic place for swimming when the weather is a little warmer.

After a few pictures, we started climbing back up. Sandy saw something scurrying on the ground and it turned out to be a little shrew.

After climbing up to the road I looked back across to the waterfall from the pull-off along the road. The view here is somewhat obscured by foliage, but I’d imagine in the winter there would be nice views from here. We decided to call it a day after this waterfall and started making our way back. For dinner, we stopped at Twin Dragon Grand Buffet and tried to make up for all the calories burned today! After dinner, we headed back to the hotel and went to bed.