Wintergreen Falls (Toxaway)

Wintergreen Falls is a beautiful waterfall on Toxaway River in Transylvania County.  The waterfall is located deep in the heart of Gorges State Park near Lake Toxaway.

Hike Length: 10 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
Features: Waterfalls (1)
Crowds: Low
Warnings: Off-trail bushwhacking to get to the waterfall.  The rocks around the waterfalls are very slippery.
Trailhead GPS: 35.10853,-82.88361
Waterfall GPS: 35.09785,-82.92488

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 left, 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.  There are some nice drops on the river in this section.

In about a half-mile from Wintergreen Trail ends, the path crosses Panther Branch then requires scrambling over rocks at a cliff face. Past the cliff, the trail is a little flatter and soon comes out at the huge pool at the base of Wintergreen Falls.

There is an upper section of the waterfall that can't be seen from the base, but can be seen just downstream from the base of Upper Wintergreen Falls.

Blog Entries:

20-Feb-2015: Wintergreen Falls

External Links:

NC State Parks website: https://www.ncparks.gov/gorges-state-park/home