One I was able to rock-hop and the other I had to wade; there had been a little too much rain for a rock hop. Shortly past the last crossing, we came to Rainbow Falls.
This waterfall has two sections, an upper 20-foot double drop through a rock chasm and then a 12-foot cascade below.
We came out in between the two sections with good views of the upper part. It was a steep scramble down to get a shot of the lower section and a view of both of the sections.
I found out later that there's another larger waterfall above this one, but didn't know at the time. I guess we'll have to make a return trip to get that one. After a few pictures, we started making our way back. From here, we backtracked to Forest Road 77 and took this towards Chilhowee Campground. There were a couple scenic overlooks on the way so we stopped. The first had a nice view of Parksville Lake far below.
Another had a nice stone gazebo that had unfortunately been vandalized with graffiti.
Past here, we turned into Chilhowee Recreation Area. At the campground, we parked at the day use area and paid at the self-serve kiosk. Then we got on the Benton Falls Trail (#131) and hiked past McCamy Lake.
The trail was pretty flat and quite easy, a nice wide old roadbed. It was about a mile and half stroll to the waterfall. At the end of the trail, a steep path led down to the base of Benton Falls. I was really impressed. I wasn’t familiar with this waterfall before and it was really beautiful.
Probably the most photogenic of the trip. The water tumbles down about 65 feet over countless ledges. We played around on the rocks for a while getting pictures and then headed back. Our last waterfall for the day was Twin Falls on Gee Creek. From US-411, we took Gee Creek Road, which becomes Forest Road 2013 as it enters into Cherokee National Forest. The Gee Creek Trail (#191) leads into the Gee Creek Wilderness. It’s only about a mile to the waterfall, which was very pretty despite not being too big.
Gee Creek splits into two streams as it cascades down.
After some pictures, we started making our way back. Just downstream of Twin Falls was a very scenic cascade on the creek.
Sandy fell in trying to get a good view. I decided to take off my boots and wade in the river for a picture.
A little further, we spotted another nice cascade that was big enough to almost be another waterfall.
Back at the car, we started heading north, taking I-75 to I-40. There was a wreck near the intersection so we got off the highway and had dinner in Lenoir City. Then we got back on I-40 and drove to Greeneville and stayed at Quality Inn. Later that night, it started to hail, with some really big chunks, but nothing stuck by morning.
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