Keowee-Toxaway

Thursday, we had breakfast again at Village Inn then headed to Keowee-Toxaway State Park, arriving right at opening time.  We started off on Natural Bridge Trail.  In about a half-mile, we crossed the natural bridge.

It's basically just a big rock slab over Poe Creek.

I went upstream and downstream of the bridge for some pictures.

Just downstream of here was Upper Poe Creek Falls.

There was a big open rocky area in the creek to go out and get a picture.

Just past the waterfall, we got on Raven Rock Trail.

There were some big rocks along the trail with some unusual icicles dripping down.

At the split, we went right and eventually came down to Lake Keowee.

There were some nice views, but the other side of the lake is developed.  As the trail climbed back up, there was a real nice overlook with a more natural view.

After finishing the loop, we got back on Natural Bridge Trail and crossed the creek on a wooden footbridge just below Poe Creek Falls.

It's the biggest on the creek at about 15 feet.  The best views were from the other side after crossing the bridge.

Alex really didn't like the footbridge, so we had to cross on the rocks.

A little further down the trail, a side path led to Lower Poe Creek Falls.

I thought this was the most scenic of the three.

After that, we finished up the loop and headed back to the car.

For lunch, we stopped at Mikoshi in Pickens for hibachi and then made a stop at Glass Mountain Heritage Preserve.

Parking at the summit near the radio towers, we took the trail that headed down the mountain.

There were several nice viewpoints from Glassy Mountain.

The ended near the start of the entrance road and we headed back up.

From here, we headed back to our cabin for the evening.

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.

DuPont Forest Waterfalls

Tuesday, we had breakfast at Village Inn again and then headed into North Carolina to DuPont State Forest.  We drove down the gravel Cascade Lake Road and pulled over next to Merry Falls.

It's a really scenic roadside waterfall that I understand is part of a newly-acquired tract of land in the forest.

After some pictures from near the road, I scrambled down to creek level for some pictures

Then we headed back to Staton Road and parked at the visitor center.  From here, we got on High Falls Loop Trail and went to the overlook for High Falls.

With high water, even lighting and the leaves down, it was a really nice view.  Just past the overlook, a spur trail led to the base.  There was a lot of spray so we didn't stay long.

Back on the main trail, we continued to Triple Falls Trail.  The stairs to the middle were closed but we had a nice view of Triple Falls from the trailside overlook.

The trail continued down Little River.

At the end, we came to Hooker Falls Access further down Staton Road.  The old Hooker Falls that followed the river is now closed so got on the new trail that went up and around, passing by the Moore-Hooker Cemetery.

After the cemetery, the trail headed down, ending near the base of Hooker Falls.  I walked up close to the base for some pictures.

Then we made our way back, taking the other side of the High Falls Loop to return to the parking area.

From here, we headed into Brevard for lunch at Hawg Wild.  Since we were close by, we made a quick stop at Looking Glass Falls.

Then we headed back into South Carolina on US-178 and took Cleo Chapman Highway to the Twin Falls Trailhead.  The short trail led into Jocassee Gorges Wildlife Management Area and ended at an overlook of Twin Falls.

In high water, it was really flowing and there was a third stream of water coming down.  Unfortunately, a lot of downfall was all over the base.

Then we made our way back to the cabin and retired for the evening.