Elk River & Jones Falls

Monday morning, we woke up and had one more delicious breakfast before checking out of the B&B. Making the short drive back into North Carolina, we turned at Elk Park and headed to Elk River Falls. We wanted to arrive early as this is a popular spot, especially on a nice Memorial Day. Arriving at around 9, there were only a couple of cars here. We first made the short hike to Elk River Falls, also called Big Falls.

This beautiful 60-foot waterfall on Elk River is very scenic. I first got some pictures from the big rock at the base. Then, we scrambled down and got out on the rocks in the middle of the river for some pictures from here.

We could see some of the smaller cascades below the falls from this point. As more and more people started to arrive, we headed back. But we weren’t done yet. Back at the parking lot, we followed the gated road past the waterfall and down to a ford on Elk River.

From here, we followed an overgrown path to a small campsite at Jones Branch. Crossing this creek, a path headed up and intersected the Appalachian Trail. We turned left and followed the trail southbound. In about a half-mile, a spur trail led to Jones Falls. This was our target for the hike, but we wanted to get some more mileage in. So we continued hiking the AT, planning to hit Jones Falls on the way back. It was a lot of uphill for about a mile and a half, then a gradual descent for another half-mile to a road crossing at Campbell Hollow Road. We turned around here and made the mostly downhill hike back to Jones Falls. We spotted some reishi mushrooms near the spur trail.

The 100-foot Jones Falls is very scenic, but hard to capture a good photo.

The sun was shining right on the upper drop of the waterfall while the trees provided areas of light and shadow on the lower part. We waited for a few minutes, hoping for some cloud cover, but it never came. Before leaving, we climbed up the side of the waterfall for a profile view of the main drop of the waterfall.

I really liked how the water splashed off the huge boulder in front of the falls. After some pictures, we started heading back.

It was all downhill and easy making the hike back. We stopped to see some pretty wildflowers blooming near Elk River.

When we arrived back at the parking, there were tons of cars, parked all along the road leading to the falls. It was a good thing we arrived early. We started making our way back home, but wanted to stop for one more waterfall on the way. In Valle Crucis, we stopped the Valle Crucis Conference Center. Although private property, the landowners are nice enough to allow public access to the waterfall. The hike is only about a half-mile, but surprisingly steep.

The trail follows an old road steeply up the mountain and then down into the gorge carved by Craborchard Creek. Craborchard Falls is a long series of cascades.

It’s hard to get a good picture, because there are so many sections to the waterfall, but it’s very scenic and a great place to enjoy the scenery.

After a couple pictures, we headed back. We stopped for dinner in Wilkesboro and then drove the rest of the way home.