Highlands Waterfalls & Panthertown Valley

The first weekend of August was our annual Big Brevard trip.  Sandy and I took Friday off from work and headed out early in the morning, bringing Alex the husky with us.  We drove out to Franklin and then took US-64 back towards Highlands through the Cullasaja River Gorge.  We pulled into the Cliffside Lake Recreation Area and parked at the trailhead for Ranger Falls.  Shortly after we arrived, Justine arrived and we set off on the short trail.  The trail initially headed up a moderate slope and came to a split.  A left turn here led down to Skitty Creek and then followed the creek upstream, while straight continued to Flat Mountain.  In total, it was just over a mile to the waterfall.  Although there had been a lot of rain in Highlands the past couple days, it apparently did not fall in the Skitty Creek watershed as Ranger Falls had very little water.

This was Alex’s first waterfall and my number 400!  After a couple pictures, we made the hike back to the cars.  From here, we drove into Highlands and took NC-106 south towards Scaly Mountain.  After about 9 miles, we pulled over at a School Bus sign and found an overgrown scramble path that led down.  Almost immediately, a right turn led down to the creek at the base of Upper Middle Creek Falls.

We got some pictures from the base here while Alex splashed around in the water.  Then I climbed up a rock to get a view from here.  After a few pictures, we headed back to the split and turned right.  The trail soon petered out and was difficult to follow.  A few pieces of flagging tape helped keep us on track.  Soon, we came to the top of Middle Creek Falls.  The creek flowed through some slides and there were some huge boulder here.

But we needed to get further down to see the main part of the waterfall.  We backtracked a bit and followed a path that led away from the creek and then back at a spot roughly in the middle of the main 75-foot section of the waterfall.  The water level was a little low, but the waterfall was still very impressive.

We got a few pictures and then started heading back.  Back in Highlands, we got on US-64 east and headed to Lake Toxaway.  We took NC-281 north a short ways and then turned on Cold Mountain Road.  Due to the recent rains, Shower Bath Falls was actually flowing and we pulled over for a quick picture.

Then we continued to the parking area for Panthertown Valley.  We started on the Panthertown Valley Trail (#474) and followed this trail down towards Greenland Creek.  Just before the bridge, we turned right on Devils Elbow Trail (#448).  We passed through a powerline clearing and just after that, turned off the trail at a campsite.  The short path led down to Tuckasegee River at the top of Wardens Falls.  A steep path to the right led to the base of the waterfall.

I got out on the rocks, but couldn’t really see the waterfall well.  I took off my boots and waded into the water for a better view.  Unfortunately, the water level was too high and fast-moving to get to the other side.  So I got the best picture I could and then climbed back up to the top and we started making our way back.  Back at Panthertown Valley Trail, we turned right to cross the bridge and then turned left on Little Green Trail (#485).  It was just a short ways to Schoolhouse Falls.  It was getting late so we didn’t stay long, but we couldn’t pass seeing this scenic waterfall when we were so close.

After heading back to the car, we drove to Kuykendall Group Camp and set up our tent.  Although it was Alex’s first time camping, he seemed to enjoy it.  Fortunately, it was rather cool at night so he didn’t get overheated.