Laurel Fork Falls (Pisgah)

Laurel Fork Falls is a 50-foot waterfall on its namesake in Transylvania County, North Carolina.  There is a lower 25-foot waterfall along the way.  The waterfalls are located in the Davidson River area of the Pisgah Ranger District of Pisgah National Forest.

Hike Length: 1.8 miles
Estimated Time: 2 to 3 hours
Difficulty: Difficult
Location: Davidson River (Pisgah Ranger District of Pisgah National Forest)
Trail Users: Hiking
Dogs: Must be on a leash
Features: Waterfalls (2)
Crowds: Low
Warnings: The rocks around the waterfalls are very slippery.  Getting to a good position to get a picture of the waterfall is difficult.
Trailhead GPS: 35.27909,-82.84265 
Waterfall GPS: 35.27974,-82.84957 (Lower Laurel Fork Falls), 35.27900,-82.85757 (Laurel Fork Falls)

Directions:

From Brevard, head east on US-276/US-64 to where they split and turn left to stay on US-276.  Drive north for 5.3 miles and turn left on Forest Road 475 towards Pisgah Center for Wildlife Education.  Go 4.8 miles on FR-475, which changes to gravel.  Just after the bridge over Laurel Fork, park at the small pull-off on the left.

Map:

Hike Description:

From the pull-off, cross back over the bridge and pick up a faint path on the left that follows Laurel Fork upstream. In about 0.5 miles, you'll have to scramble past a rock wall above Lower Laurel Fork Falls.  Climb down to the creek for a view of this scenic little waterfall.

Back on the main trail, it soon turns right and leads to a crossing of a tributary. Cross here and go left to head back towards Laurel Fork and follow the creek upstream. There's not much of a trail but it's pretty open if you stay a little ways away from the creek. It gets really rocky and steep towards then end and there are some huge boulders to navigate around at the end. The water level was way up and when I visited and I couldn't get down to the base.

Blog Entries:

27-Apr-2018: Laurel Fork Waterfalls