Chauga River Waterfalls

Friday morning, we had our usual breakfast and then headed to Oconee County and Chau Ram Park.  It was just a short hike down the road to see Ramsey Creek Falls.

The rocks were icy so we had to stay behind the fence.

After some pictures, we walked over to the Point with a nice view of Chauga River.

We then crossed the swinging bridge and walked up to Pump House Rapids on the opposite side of teh river.

The swinging bridge was just downstream of here.

After some pictures, we got on the Blue Trail and passed Lost Paddle Rapids.

Just past here was Jump Off Rock.

The trail continued along the river a short ways then looped around just before the bridge on US-76.  I made a short detour on the Red Trail up to the Scout Cabin.  Only the chimney remained and it looked like it was converted to an amphitheater.

We took the Orange Trail to head back down to the river at V Rapid, which was shaped like a V.

Just upstream of here was Canopener Rapid.

The loop completed just past here and we headed back to the car.

Next, we headed into Sumter National Forest on Spy Rock Road and parked at the gated FR-748C.  At the end of the road, we picked up Riley Moore Falls Trail and followed that another half-mile to Riley Moore Falls.

The beach area at the base made a nice spot to relax and have lunch.

Alex dug a little burrow in the sand and took a nap.  After our break, we headed back.

From here, we got on Brasstown Creek Road and drove to the trailhead at the end.  It was a short hike to a split and we first went left.  A bridge crossed Brasstown Creek so we didn't have to wade to reach Little Brasstown Falls. 

After a couple pictures, we went back to the split and headed down to Brasstown Falls.

The upper section of the waterfall is a long series of cascades.

Just below this is a 20-foot veil.  A new overlook provides a view of the two upper sections of the falls.

The trail got steep after this point with a ladder that Alex had trouble with, but he found a way around.

The trail ended at the base of the lowest section, a narrow chute.

This is one of my favorite South Carolina waterfalls.  Each section would be a nice waterfall on its own, but all together, it's just great.

On the drive back, we stopped at Brasstown Creek Gathering Place for barbecue dinner and then headed back to Pickens to start packing up.

Stumphouse Tunnel

Wednesday, we had breakfast at Village Inn and then headed towards Walhalla stopping at Oconee Station State Historic Site.  We first hiked to Station Cove Falls.

It wasn't frozen but lots of icicles on the falls.

After a few minutes, we hiked back and continued on the trail back to the historic site, passing around the small pond.

Finishing up the loop, we walked over to the historic buildings.

Oconee Station and William Richards house date from the late 18th and early 19th century.

The doors were unlocked so we walked around inside a bit.

After a quick tour, we took off.

From here, we next stopped at Stumphouse Tunnel Park.  After paying admission, we parked for the falls.  It was a short hike to the overlook for Issaqueena Falls.

In winter, the view from the overlook is pretty nice.

I climbed down to the base for a closer view.  There were lots of icicles on the waterfall in the cold weather.

Although the lighting was poor, the bright sunlight did make a nice rainbow in the spray of the falls. 

We headed back and then went to Stumphouse Tunnel.

The tunnel was constructed in the mid 19th century for a railroad line through the area.  Work ceased during the Civil War and was never resumed, leaving the tunnel incomplete.

We walked back as far as we could go.

There were a lot of icicles around the entrance, but the tunnel itself was mild.

From here, we headed into Walhalla for lunch at Trailhead Tavern.  Back towards Pickens, we made a stop at Nine Times Preserve.

This little Nature Conservancy property was very close to our cabin.  We hiked the Rocky Bald Loop Trail and headed up the mountain.  In about a half-mile, we came to Nine Times Falls.

It's an ephemeral waterfall on a very small tributary so there wasn't much water flowing.  It would need a very heavy rain to really look good.

After a couple pictures, we continued on the loop trail.  There wasn't much more uphill and soon we headed back down.

We headed back to the cabin and took Harper to the library after the sun went down.

Chattooga River Waterfalls

Monday morning, we had breakfast at Village Inn again and then headed to the northwest corner of the state into Sumter National Forest and parked at the trailhead for Burrells Ford Campground.  We got on Foothills Trail for a 1/2 mile to King Creek Trail and followed this up the creek, ending at the beautiful King Creek Falls.

It's a beautiful 70-foot waterfall and we actually had nice lighting today.

Harper was very interested in the big waterfall.  After some pictures, we started heading back and stayed on Foothills Trail out to Chattooga Trail and turned right to hike along the river.  Near the campground, we found a nice spot for a break.

After a snack break, we continued following the trail along the river upstream.  After crossing Burrells Ford Road, we entered Ellicott Rock Wilderness.  Across Spoonauger Creek, we took the spur trail up towards the falls.  There's a nice cascade on the creek in the first switchback.

After a couple more switchbacks, the trail ends at the base of Spoonauger Falls.

In high water and good lighting, the waterfall was very pretty.  I scrambled around on the rocks for pictures from different angles.

Back down the spur trail, we continued on Chattooga Trail about another mile with several nice views of the river.

Then we hiked back to the car.

From here, we started making our way back to Pickens with a quick stop at the overlook on Oscar Wigington Highway.

Back in Pickens, we went to Burning Brick Tavern for a late lunch and then returned to our cabin and all went for a short hike on Alder Creek Trail to see the waterfall again.