Hike Length: 11.8 miles
Estimated Time: 6 to 8 hours
Difficulty: Difficult
Location: Gorges State Park
Trail Users: Hiking only
Dogs: Only if on a ≤ 6 foot leash, but trail is not dog-friendly
Features: Waterfalls (1)
Crowds: Low
Warnings: Significant off-trail bushwhacking requiring navigation skills to get to the waterfall. The rocks around the waterfalls are very slippery.
Trailhead GPS: 35.10853,-82.88361
Waterfall GPS: 35.09828,-82.92736
Directions:
To visit the falls, head west from Brevard on US-64 for about 9 miles and turn left on Frozen Creek Road. Go 3 miles and the parking for the Frozen Creek access of Gorges State Park will be on the right.
Map:
Hike Description:
From the Frozen Creek Access parking, take the Augur Hole Trail. In about 3 miles from the parking, Wintergreen Trail will split to the right, shortly before Augur Hole Trail fords Toxaway River. The trail runs for about a mile following Toxaway River upstream, heading uphill then downhill to near the river and ending at a campsite. The trail ends here, but there is some semblance of path to continue following the river upstream. Make sure to have a GPS or topo map and compass as the path is very difficult to follow. In about 0.2 miles, there is a nice 10-foot waterfall on the river.
In about a half-mile from where Wintergreen Trail ends, the path crosses Panther Branch. Right after crossing, look for an old overgrown road heading up the ridge to the right. Follow this up for a ways and then it levels out, following the river high above. The path is overgrown and difficult to follow in places but stays around the 1840' contour line. The path will cross over two drainages and then heads steeply up. It is particularly hard to follow in this section but head straight up. Eventually it levels off as it reaches the top of the ridge at an opening in the woods. From here, look for an obvious path to the left that heads south-southwest down a ridge towards Toxaway River. This path becomes steeper and more narrow but is easy to follow. Towards the end, it crosses several knife ridges that require scrambling and becomes extremely steep dropping down to Toxaway River. The upper portion of Wintergreen Falls, which is not visible from the base, is immediately downstream.
Upper Wintergreen Falls is immediately upstream. The rocks on the river left side make a great place to hang out and enjoy the view.
In about a half-mile from where Wintergreen Trail ends, the path crosses Panther Branch. Right after crossing, look for an old overgrown road heading up the ridge to the right. Follow this up for a ways and then it levels out, following the river high above. The path is overgrown and difficult to follow in places but stays around the 1840' contour line. The path will cross over two drainages and then heads steeply up. It is particularly hard to follow in this section but head straight up. Eventually it levels off as it reaches the top of the ridge at an opening in the woods. From here, look for an obvious path to the left that heads south-southwest down a ridge towards Toxaway River. This path becomes steeper and more narrow but is easy to follow. Towards the end, it crosses several knife ridges that require scrambling and becomes extremely steep dropping down to Toxaway River. The upper portion of Wintergreen Falls, which is not visible from the base, is immediately downstream.
Upper Wintergreen Falls is immediately upstream. The rocks on the river left side make a great place to hang out and enjoy the view.
Blog Entries:
12-Jun-2020: Upper Wintergreen & Chub Line Falls
External Links:
NC State Parks website: https://www.ncparks.gov/gorges-state-park/home
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