Harrah's Cherokee Side Trips
Got a PM from another member, a respected member, that wanted some more info on some of the sights nearby, how to find them, which we saw or did, etc, because of an upcoming trip of their own.
So I will post that here, with that thread title, for anyone interested.
There is no gambling, just a handful of the side trips near Harrahs Cherokee, NC.
Most all of the waterfalls were originally found on the Internet by my wife, I think she was looking under attractions near Asheville NC or something. There are many dozens listed there. There are hundreds in western NC all told.
A good guide that we now own, didn't then, is Hiking, Waterfalls in North Carolina, by Melissa Watson. It's a member of "Falcon Guides" publication series. That guide can do a much better job of actually finding these waterfalls than the way we did it. Typically, wife had illegible directions she has jotted down from Internet, I just asked Siri, "take me to such and such". We didn't always have the most direct route, a couple were comical, but we weren't in a hurry. We had left 'hurry' back home.
I mentioned day 1, left Harrah's about 9:30 AM, visited 2 waterfalls quickly.
1st Mingo Falls, still on Tribal land, 150 ft tall, interesting directions but we drove almost straight there. Park, then climb 150 plus stairs in the mountainside, pretty steep, but only 0.4 miles round trip.
2nd Soco Falls about another 20 (?) minutes away. Height 50 ft, only 0.2 mile round trip hike. Now that had us up on the Blue Ridge Pkwy, 450 miles of the some of prettiest drive you can find anywhere, but only for a few minutes. Off Pkwy for Soco, back on Pkwy headed north enjoying the scenery, lots of pull-offs and long range vistas.
3rd, stopped at Waterrock Knob visitor station and hike on the Pkwy, milepost 450 ish.
At about 6,000 ft elevation there are big views in all directions. We hiked 1mile round trip, fairly strenuous to the top of the 'Knob', quite nice. Primitive restrooms available here BTW, and nice visitor center highlighting the entire Pkwy. Mountains to the Sea trail passes thru here but somehow I had missed this particular section back when.
On up the Pkwy a little bit and jumped off to backtrack to Diilsboro NC for lunch. BBQ samiches at ? Starts with an 'H', Hammonds maybe. Dillsboro a cute little town about 4 blocks square, total. Home of the famous Jarrett House Restuarant and Hotel. As a side note, my parents stayed there on their honeymoon back in forty something.
Couple of those blocks were busy with a craft fair, we browsed a bit.
Then back down the freeway, Hwy 23/74, past the turnoff for Cherokee, and past at least one more turn off, which we should have taken, to the next turnoff for Bryson City, bigger town, must be at least 12 by 12 blocks. Thru there and headed toward the Deep Creek Recreation Area which is just inside the Great Smokey Mountains National Park, and this is July, and the place was packed with tourists, at least hundreds, probably thousands. But wasn't bad, found parking near the trailhead to the waterfalls. Most of the tourists were here to float down Deep Creek in 'tubes', hundreds and hundreds of tubes.
There are 3 easily accessible falls here, 2 of them beyond the tubers, all in a 1.4 mile loop ish sort of trip. We went counterclockwise which brings you to 1st Tom's Branch Falls, 2nd Indian Creek Falls ( great swimming - cold water ), and 3rd Juneywhank Falls. This is all in the Park, alcohol is frowned upon here. Rangers were searching the minivan of some poor mom (with kids) parked next to us back at the parking lot. Apparently someone (Ranger) saw her throw away an empty beer can in the trash. Unfortunately there was another half full one in her vehicle. Was her friend's, another mom (more kids). We left them all to it and returned to Cherokee arriving about 5:00 ish. Day 1, 5 waterfalls and a hike up Waterrock Knob.
More tomorrow.
Bring it. Good chance some day will check out some of this.
I've been to that casino once, it was a mini-WoV meet-up. We did have a lot of fun, and we were lucky to have Teddys along who very generously shared a comped dinner with us.
I haven't gotten any irresistible offers and haven't been back, but intend to. I like to go month-on, month-off with gambling at most, so there's a limit to what I will allow myself. There are rumors of another meet-up early fall, in PA perhaps.
I have a random host there who calls him up occasionally and asks if I am coming back.Quote: odiousgambit>More tomorrow.
Bring it. Good chance some day will check out some of this.
I've been to that casino once, it was a mini-WoV meet-up. We did have a lot of fun, and we were lucky to have Teddys along who very generously shared a comped dinner with us.
I haven't gotten any irresistible offers and haven't been back, but intend to. I like to go month-on, month-off with gambling at most, so there's a limit to what I will allow myself. There are rumors of another meet-up early fall, in PA perhaps.
The last time he called, he didn't sound so excited, though. "Hi TeddyS, are you coming down for Labor Day?" "No." "Oh, well, okay, let me know if there's anything you need. Bye."
My ADT is probably -$330 :)
Quote: teddysI have a random host there who calls him up occasionally and asks if I am coming back.
The last time he called, he didn't sound so excited, though. "Hi TeddyS, are you coming down for Labor Day?" "No." "Oh, well, okay, let me know if there's anything you need. Bye."
My ADT is probably -$330 :)
I cannot compare too much with other destinations around the country, much less around the world.
That's from the 'gambling' side of things.
From a destination standpoint, always depends on where you're starting from, The Southern Appalacians can be a very, very nice destination.
The Eastern Band of the Cherokee, in a partnership with Harrah's brand, put a nice little 'destination' on the map. The Eastern Band needed it, took a chance, seems to be working now (had hiccups). They are expanding to a second location.
I will leave it to someone else, to somewhere else, discuss the 'gambling' opportunities there.
This thread is about a couple of things you can do in the area, if you happen to find yourself in the area, and the Casino isn't where you want to spend your whole day. Not trying to be comprehensive in that coverage, big topic, lots of options. Just outlining some waterfall hikes if that's what somebody might like ( or spouse likes ). Someone asked me to provide additional info, I'm trying.
Quote: teddysI have a random host there who calls him up occasionally and asks if I am coming back.
The last time he called, he didn't sound so excited, though. "Hi TeddyS, are you coming down for Labor Day?" "No." "Oh, well, okay, let me know if there's anything you need. Bye."
My ADT is probably -$330 :)
Their offers of free play have always been pretty light for me, although I used to get one day offers of $125 and $175 free play (only good for a specific day).
I'm betting the offers go up as soon as the newer casino comes on line in Murphy (only 1 hour away). That is going to steal 90% of the Atlanta crowd, and I expect Cherokee will be fighting hard for patrons.
I ended up doing the google search last week, and found some of the falls you mentioned. The falls I found most interesting is Grotto Falls, as you can walk behind the water fall. I think that may be our target for this trip.
Our daughter had taken us to a gorge somewhere near Sylvia with a nice waterfall a few years ago, but it turns out it is on private land. That is too bad because it was a fantastic gorge and waterfall. A great place to spend the whole day, laying in the sun and having a picnic (and packing out EVERYTHING that we took in with us).
Quote: RaleighCrapsThanks 2F for your post.
I ended up doing the google search last week, and found some of the falls you mentioned. The falls I found most interesting is Grotto Falls, as you can walk behind the water fall. I think that may be our target for this trip.
Our daughter had taken us to a gorge somewhere near Sylvia with a nice waterfall a few years ago, but it turns out it is on private land. That is too bad because it was a fantastic gorge and waterfall. A great place to spend the whole day, laying in the sun and having a picnic (and packing out EVERYTHING that we took in with us).
Might be Silva, rather than Sylvia?
And I don't know 'Grotto Falls'.
Checked my book, no Grotto Falls mentioned in NC, maybe over the ridge into TN? Googled and found Grotto Falls.
In the Park, GSMNP, to the right (NE?) of Hwy 441 as it crosses the range headed toward Gatlinburg TN.
Said you can walk behind the falls and stay dry, nice.
Sounds a bit like Dry Falls over around Highlands/Cashiers, very nice Falls.
So much to do up there, in all directions, whether you like it adventurous and out on the edge, or whether you are a bit more laid back, and everything in-between.
Our cabin getaway has in fact, morphed over into TN. We were looking for a cabin with a pool table and we found better pricing across the border. It also made it 1 hour less travel for our friends from PA, so it was a no-brainer.
We have driven 441 a half dozen times and I never knew any of those waterfalls were there. That certainly explains the large number of cars that are pulled off the road all the time. I just thought there were a high number of jungle hikers.....Never dawned on me that waterfalls could be found there. Doh
There's actually good good trout fishing in that river running between the casino and garage.Quote: TwoFeathersATLRecently I posted about a trip in those parts that had a bunch of waterfall hikes, with only a smidgen of gamblin'.
Got a PM from another member, a respected member, that wanted some more info on some of the sights nearby, how to find them, which we saw or did, etc, because of an upcoming trip of their own.
So I will post that here, with that thread title, for anyone interested.
There is no gambling, just a handful of the side trips near Harrahs Cherokee, NC.
Most all of the waterfalls were originally found on the Internet by my wife, I think she was looking under attractions near Asheville NC or something. There are many dozens listed there. There are hundreds in western NC all told.
A good guide that we now own, didn't then, is Hiking, Waterfalls in North Carolina, by Melissa Watson. It's a member of "Falcon Guides" publication series. That guide can do a much better job of actually finding these waterfalls than the way we did it. Typically, wife had illegible directions she has jotted down from Internet, I just asked Siri, "take me to such and such". We didn't always have the most direct route, a couple were comical, but we weren't in a hurry. We had left 'hurry' back home.
I mentioned day 1, left Harrah's about 9:30 AM, visited 2 waterfalls quickly.
1st Mingo Falls, still on Tribal land, 150 ft tall, interesting directions but we drove almost straight there. Park, then climb 150 plus stairs in the mountainside, pretty steep, but only 0.4 miles round trip.
2nd Soco Falls about another 20 (?) minutes away. Height 50 ft, only 0.2 mile round trip hike. Now that had us up on the Blue Ridge Pkwy, 450 miles of the some of prettiest drive you can find anywhere, but only for a few minutes. Off Pkwy for Soco, back on Pkwy headed north enjoying the scenery, lots of pull-offs and long range vistas.
3rd, stopped at Waterrock Knob visitor station and hike on the Pkwy, milepost 450 ish.
At about 6,000 ft elevation there are big views in all directions. We hiked 1mile round trip, fairly strenuous to the top of the 'Knob', quite nice. Primitive restrooms available here BTW, and nice visitor center highlighting the entire Pkwy. Mountains to the Sea trail passes thru here but somehow I had missed this particular section back when.
On up the Pkwy a little bit and jumped off to backtrack to Diilsboro NC for lunch. BBQ samiches at ? Starts with an 'H', Hammonds maybe. Dillsboro a cute little town about 4 blocks square, total. Home of the famous Jarrett House Restuarant and Hotel. As a side note, my parents stayed there on their honeymoon back in forty something.
Couple of those blocks were busy with a craft fair, we browsed a bit.
Then back down the freeway, Hwy 23/74, past the turnoff for Cherokee, and past at least one more turn off, which we should have taken, to the next turnoff for Bryson City, bigger town, must be at least 12 by 12 blocks. Thru there and headed toward the Deep Creek Recreation Area which is just inside the Great Smokey Mountains National Park, and this is July, and the place was packed with tourists, at least hundreds, probably thousands. But wasn't bad, found parking near the trailhead to the waterfalls. Most of the tourists were here to float down Deep Creek in 'tubes', hundreds and hundreds of tubes.
There are 3 easily accessible falls here, 2 of them beyond the tubers, all in a 1.4 mile loop ish sort of trip. We went counterclockwise which brings you to 1st Tom's Branch Falls, 2nd Indian Creek Falls ( great swimming - cold water ), and 3rd Juneywhank Falls. This is all in the Park, alcohol is frowned upon here. Rangers were searching the minivan of some poor mom (with kids) parked next to us back at the parking lot. Apparently someone (Ranger) saw her throw away an empty beer can in the trash. Unfortunately there was another half full one in her vehicle. Was her friend's, another mom (more kids). We left them all to it and returned to Cherokee arriving about 5:00 ish. Day 1, 5 waterfalls and a hike up Waterrock Knob.
More tomorrow.
Hopefully I'll get the chance to spend some time there on Harrah's dime. River and stream fishing beats gambling and casinos by a long shot.
There's actually good good trout fishing in that river running between the casino and garage.Quote: TwoFeathersATLRecently I posted about a trip in those parts that had a bunch of waterfall hikes, with only a smidgen of gamblin'.
Got a PM from another member, a respected member, that wanted some more info on some of the sights nearby, how to find them, which we saw or did, etc, because of an upcoming trip of their own.
So I will post that here, with that thread title, for anyone interested.
There is no gambling, just a handful of the side trips near Harrahs Cherokee, NC.
Most all of the waterfalls were originally found on the Internet by my wife, I think she was looking under attractions near Asheville NC or something. There are many dozens listed there. There are hundreds in western NC all told.
A good guide that we now own, didn't then, is Hiking, Waterfalls in North Carolina, by Melissa Watson. It's a member of "Falcon Guides" publication series. That guide can do a much better job of actually finding these waterfalls than the way we did it. Typically, wife had illegible directions she has jotted down from Internet, I just asked Siri, "take me to such and such". We didn't always have the most direct route, a couple were comical, but we weren't in a hurry. We had left 'hurry' back home.
I mentioned day 1, left Harrah's about 9:30 AM, visited 2 waterfalls quickly.
1st Mingo Falls, still on Tribal land, 150 ft tall, interesting directions but we drove almost straight there. Park, then climb 150 plus stairs in the mountainside, pretty steep, but only 0.4 miles round trip.
2nd Soco Falls about another 20 (?) minutes away. Height 50 ft, only 0.2 mile round trip hike. Now that had us up on the Blue Ridge Pkwy, 450 miles of the some of prettiest drive you can find anywhere, but only for a few minutes. Off Pkwy for Soco, back on Pkwy headed north enjoying the scenery, lots of pull-offs and long range vistas.
3rd, stopped at Waterrock Knob visitor station and hike on the Pkwy, milepost 450 ish.
At about 6,000 ft elevation there are big views in all directions. We hiked 1mile round trip, fairly strenuous to the top of the 'Knob', quite nice. Primitive restrooms available here BTW, and nice visitor center highlighting the entire Pkwy. Mountains to the Sea trail passes thru here but somehow I had missed this particular section back when.
On up the Pkwy a little bit and jumped off to backtrack to Diilsboro NC for lunch. BBQ samiches at ? Starts with an 'H', Hammonds maybe. Dillsboro a cute little town about 4 blocks square, total. Home of the famous Jarrett House Restuarant and Hotel. As a side note, my parents stayed there on their honeymoon back in forty something.
Couple of those blocks were busy with a craft fair, we browsed a bit.
Then back down the freeway, Hwy 23/74, past the turnoff for Cherokee, and past at least one more turn off, which we should have taken, to the next turnoff for Bryson City, bigger town, must be at least 12 by 12 blocks. Thru there and headed toward the Deep Creek Recreation Area which is just inside the Great Smokey Mountains National Park, and this is July, and the place was packed with tourists, at least hundreds, probably thousands. But wasn't bad, found parking near the trailhead to the waterfalls. Most of the tourists were here to float down Deep Creek in 'tubes', hundreds and hundreds of tubes.
There are 3 easily accessible falls here, 2 of them beyond the tubers, all in a 1.4 mile loop ish sort of trip. We went counterclockwise which brings you to 1st Tom's Branch Falls, 2nd Indian Creek Falls ( great swimming - cold water ), and 3rd Juneywhank Falls. This is all in the Park, alcohol is frowned upon here. Rangers were searching the minivan of some poor mom (with kids) parked next to us back at the parking lot. Apparently someone (Ranger) saw her throw away an empty beer can in the trash. Unfortunately there was another half full one in her vehicle. Was her friend's, another mom (more kids). We left them all to it and returned to Cherokee arriving about 5:00 ish. Day 1, 5 waterfalls and a hike up Waterrock Knob.
More tomorrow.
Hopefully I'll get the chance to spend some time there on Harrah's dime. River and stream fishing beats gambling and casinos by a long shot.
Quote: ontariodealerhow long a drive from cherokee to charlotte...my grandson just got a lacrosse scholarship so I'll be there in the future.
about 3 hours, but take the 74/441 route, not the route shown [esp in bad weather]
no hyperlink of long urls? gee!
http://tinyurl.com/q9zktnk
After lunch, we turned for home via US-276, which takes you right by a different kind of "waterfall" -- Sliding Rock. Not the picturesque type of falls, but a natural "waterslide." It's a great place for the kids (and not-so-much kids, too) on a warm day. We had not planned it on this particular trip, so we didn't have our suits. But, it's worth a stop on at least one of your trips, especially if you have kids. But be prepared for a numb backside -- that water is icy, even in July!
Probably a little out of your way, RC, but there is a waterfall called Dry Falls on US-64 between Franklin & Highlands where you can walk behind the falls. It's a beautiful falls, and it's a fairly short (but steep) walk down from the parking lot to get there. You get a good, up-close view of both the front & back of the falls.Quote: RaleighCrapsThe falls I found most interesting is Grotto Falls, as you can walk behind the water fall. I think that may be our target for this trip.
(edit: Oops, I just noticed that 2F already mentioned Dry Falls, but I'll second his recommendation!)
BTW, I think that little stretch of 64 up to Highlands is the one of the most beautiful/fun/exhilarating (both my wife and my mother would use completely different adjectives, however) drives I've ever taken. When they film sports car commercials, it is on a road like this. Beautiful views of the Cullasaja River Gorge, too -- and sheer drop-offs as well!
I really enjoy the casino in Cherokee - still has good blackjack rules etc - my only problem with it is that sometimes they dont have enough tables open during crowded times and it can be tough to find a spot.
I also hate paying for my drinks :)
Quote: NostronI will be very curious to see how the new casino in Murphy effects Cherokee.
I really enjoy the casino in Cherokee - still has good blackjack rules etc - my only problem with it is that sometimes they dont have enough tables open during crowded times and it can be tough to find a spot.
I also hate paying for my drinks :)
The new casino in Murphy, good point, we'll see.
I hate paying for my drinks too, it really adds up ;-)
I think I am going to go back to page #1 of this thread, edit it/add to it, rather than posting some more information after a bunch of responses several pages down in the thread. Is that a good idea? Or bad idea?
The initial thought was just to give a glimpse of the non-gambling options for activities in the area. I did assume that most of the members on this forum already had a clue about what/when/where to utilize the opportunities in the casino there. Most much better than me. But there is a lot of other stuff in the area, tons of good stuff. I will continue at some point that original 'quest'.
(edit -- Looks like Babs beat me to it. I'm a little slow on the draw this morning.)
Quote: beachbumbabsMy personal opinion (generically and generally) on editing previous posts; if you have new info, it tends to get seen more if you post it in a subsequent post, because the site bookmarks where you are in a thread and takes you to unseen/new posts, but does not take you back to edits in previous posts. It also works, somewhat, to post in the thread that you have gone back to add info to an earlier post, but I for one am not that fond of paging back and reading a long post I've already read, trying to pick out what is new. OTOH, those who are just reading the thread for the first time may get more out of the edited or enhanced first post, so it may be worth doing it, depending on how substantive the edits are.
Those were just my thoughts, both for and against, adding to the original post, or adding more info to the thread. At least we agree, I think.
The original concept was to put together a brief list of some of the activities in the area that were 'outside' the casino. Unless some admin tells me not to do that, which you haven't so far, I think that is how I'll proceed. Really I'm trying to continue that first 'mission', put it on the record where someone could maybe find it and read it and get some ideas about what to do in the area. I couldn't post it all at once, I'm slow.
Of course you can re-arrange it however you see fit probably ;-)
I noticed someone corrected my spelling in the original 'thread title', I had mis-spelled Cherokee, thanks for that!
I would rather have all of the information contained in the first post. That way, when I come back to this thread in 6 months, all of the options are easily found in the first post. Otherwise, I will have to read through the whole thread to find all of the options.
If you edit the first post, also put a new reply in the forum saying an update has been made. You could even go so far as to draw a line before the new edit;
original post
blah
blah
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
edit number 1
blah
blah
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
edit number 2
That way if a thread gets polluted with too much off topic content, which is likely to happen, the real purpose of the thread is mostly contained to the first post, and easily revisited later.
Quote: RaleighCrapsAs usual, I will offer the opposing opinion.
I would rather have all of the information contained in the first post. That way, when I come back to this thread in 6 months, all of the options are easily found in the first post. Otherwise, I will have to read through the whole thread to find all of the options.
If you edit the first post, also put a new reply in the forum saying an update has been made. You could even go so far as to draw a line before the new edit;
original post
blah
blah
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
edit number 1
blah
blah
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
edit number 2
That way if a thread gets polluted with too much off topic content, which is likely to happen, the real purpose of the thread is mostly contained to the first post, and easily revisited later.
Also a valid way of addressing it, and depending on the content, the best, I think, for a thread such as this.
Quote: TwoFeathersATL..
The original concept was to put together a brief list of some of the activities in the area that were 'outside' the casino. Unless some admin tells me not to do that, which you haven't so far, I think that is how I'll proceed...
I vaguely remember The Wiz saying at one point as long as there was some tie in to gambling, most any topic was valid. In this case, the tie in is pretty clear. Things to do while you are at Harrah's Cherokee Casino.
Slightly off topic.
I assume the reservation has different laws about what is legal regarding weaponry?
I had a very profitable craps session a couple of years ago, and when we stopped in one of the reservation stores I saw throwing stars and what looked like real switch blades. I also ended up purchasing a very cool dagger with a 14" blade on it. As I was driving home, it suddenly occurred to me that perhaps my purchase was not legal off the reservation. Does anyone know?
Quote: beachbumbabsAlso a valid way of addressing it, and depending on the content, the best, I think, for a thread such as this.
Now I think three of us agree. The plan was to make mention of the addition, at the point of addition/edit. I may actually get around to it ;-) I will, soon!
Quote: TwoFeathersATLNow I think three of us agree. The plan was to make mention of the addition, at the point of addition/edit. I may actually get around to it ;-) I will, soon!
You also should put a reply into the thread that becomes a new post, just stating that the first post has been updated. That way people who have already read the thread will see a new post that says the info in post one has been updated.
You probably meant that in your sentence, but I wasn't sure I was reading it right.
And thanks for taking the time to do this thread. I'm sure there are some great gems to be found out there. I'm already thinking about adding Joeman's tip of the Pisgah Inn restaurant to our next trip
Quote: RaleighCrapsYou also should put a reply into the thread that becomes a new post, just stating that the first post has been updated. That way people who have already read the thread will see a new post that says the info in post one has been updated.
You probably meant that in your sentence, but I wasn't sure I was reading it right.
And thanks for taking the time to do this thread. I'm sure there are some great gems to be found out there. I'm already thinking about adding Joeman's tip of the Pisgah Inn restaurant to our next trip
Yes that is what I meant to accomplish, meant to say, when I augment the original post. You got it figured out, I maybe do ;-)
http://www.romanticasheville.com/fall.htm
and specific to this thread topic ,
http://www.romanticasheville.com/waterfalls.htm
which lists the Top 60 waterfalls in the area, with lots of information on each waterfall.
I never finished the project I started, but all the info is out there.
Isn't the interwebby thing cool?
Spent the past Thursday through Monday in a mountain cabin near Gatlinburg, TN. On the drive out, we stopped in Old Fort, and hiked 1.5 miles in to view Catawba Falls. It was recently reopened to the public after having been closed for years. 100 foot tall waterfall.
The first mile of the hike is pretty good trail, but once you get past the old dam, the trail gets much harder. It is not well marked, and you end up crossing the water a few times, plus a climb through a boulder 'garden' in the middle of the stream. My wife and I got through the boulder garden, but could not find a path after much searching. We had given up, and were about to start back down, when she noticed a possible path on the other side of the stream, so we crossed over one more time. That path went for about 200 yds, and BAM, there were the Falls in all their glory. They were really cool. Definitely worth the work to find them. And with all the recent rains, they were really flowing.
We then detoured to Brevard and drove to Looking Glass Falls which is right beside the road. It was a nice Falls, but nothing compared to Catawba. Much easier to see is the nicest thing I can say.
On Monday's return trip, we headed to Grotto Falls on the TN side. But by the time we got to the Falls area, it was overrun with people (why aren't they working????). So, we decided to skip Grotto Falls, and drove over the Smokies to Cherokee. I had called on Sunday to get a comp'd casino room for Monday night, so we stopped by the casino to get our keys. (The hotel parking deck had a small floor collapse last year and is still closed, so registering without needing to park was a time saver.) We got the room keys, and then drove off to visit Mingo Falls and Socco Falls.
Mingo Falls has steps built for you to aid your climb to the Falls. 161 of them to be exact. And my glutes started screaming about step number 60! Again, this Falls is pretty tall, and was definitely worth the climb.
Socco Falls is also very close to the road, but the path to the viewing bridge requires you to watch your footing. Makes for a short, but interesting hike. The cool thing here is they have strung ropes to help you descend to the base of the falls. This 'path' is more fit for a mountain goat, but it was navigable by both of us, without much effort. In these days of over protection, it was refreshing to be able to do something that had some potential for something bad to happen.
I would like the thank TwoFeathers for his initial trip report on visiting the waterfalls, and waking me up to the beauty that was right in front of me to see, but I was too dumb to know better. The research was a bit time consuming, but the reward was worth every minute it took.
Thanks I didn't get a chance to look at the links, but you had me at 60 waterfalls. Eventually I'll spend a month in that area and waterfalls are the nutz add that to stream and river fishing and that's heavily.Quote: RaleighCrapsI finally found a single great site that lists a lot of the activities that can be found around the Smokey Mountains.
http://www.romanticasheville.com/fall.htm
and specific to this thread topic ,
http://www.romanticasheville.com/waterfalls.htm
which lists the Top 60 waterfalls in the area, with lots of information on each waterfall.
Quote: AxelWolfThanks I didn't get a chance to look at the links, but you had me at 60 waterfalls. Eventually I'll spend a month in that area and waterfalls are the nutz add that to stream and river fishing and that's heavily.
One of the Falls we visited (I think it may have been Grotto Falls in TN) had a fish hatchery in the stream below the Falls. We were wondering why so many fisherman were in the stream heading up the mountain. Then we saw the signs for the hatchery. LOL
The links I posted are for things on the East side of the Smokies, so Grotto and the TN Rainbow Falls are not in there.
Quote: RaleighCrapsSpent the past Thursday through Monday in a mountain cabin near Gatlinburg, TN. On the drive out, we stopped in Old Fort, and hiked 1.5 miles in to view Cawtaba Falls. It was recently reopened to the public after having been closed for years. 100 foot tall waterfall.
The first mile of the hike is pretty good trail, but once you get past the old dam, the trail gets much harder. It is not well marked, and you end up crossing the water a few times, plus a climb through a boulder 'garden' in the middle of the stream. My wife and I got through the boulder garden, but could not find a path after much searching. We had given up, and were about to start back down, when she noticed a possible path on the other side of the stream, so we crossed over one more time. That path went for about 200 yds, and BAM, there were the Falls in all their glory. They were really cool. Definitely worth the work to find them. And with all the recent rains, they were really flowing.
We then detoured to Brevard and drove to Looking Glass Falls which is right beside the road. It was a nice Falls, but nothing compared to Cawtaba. Much easier to see is the nicest thing I can say.
On Monday's return trip, we headed to Grotto Falls on the TN side. But by the time we got to the Falls area, it was overrun with people (why aren't they working????). So, we decided to skip Grotto Falls, and drove over the Smokies to Cherokee. I had called on Sunday to get a comp'd casino room for Monday night, so we stopped by the casino to get our keys. (The hotel parking deck had a small floor collapse last year and is still closed, so registering without needing to park was a time saver.) We got the room keys, and then drove off to visit Mingo Falls and Socco Falls.
Mingo Falls has steps built for you to aid your climb to the Falls. 161 of them to be exact. And my glutes started screaming about step number 60! Again, this Falls is pretty tall, and was definitely worth the climb.
Socco Falls is also very close to the road, but the path to the viewing bridge requires you to watch your footing. Makes for a short, but interesting hike. The cool thing here is they have strung ropes to help you descend to the base of the falls. This 'path' is more fit for a mountain goat, but it was navigable by both of us, without much effort. In these days of over protection, it was refreshing to be able to do something that had some potential for something bad to happen.
I would like the thank TwoFeathers for his initial trip report on visiting the waterfalls, and waking me up to the beauty that was right in front of me to see, but I was too dumb to know better. The research was a bit time consuming, but the reward was worth every minute it took.
Great report! They must've finally cleaned up the superfund water pollution up there; I'm very excited to think they got it done.
Quote: AxelWolfThanks I didn't get a chance to look at the links, but you had me at 60 waterfalls. Eventually I'll spend a month in that area and waterfalls are the nutz add that to stream and river fishing and that's heavily.
Axel, Soco Creek runs right outside the casino, actually between the casino and hotel with a couple of skywalks running over the creek between them. You can watch the fisherman pulling trout out all day. Or join them, but I don't know the dates of the trout fishing season off the top of my head. Wait, actually just looked them up, Aug to Feb for most, Oct to June for delayed harvest streams. NC and Tribal license required probably. The Oconaluftee River less than a mile away is managed for catch and release trophy trout. All very beautiful country, and lots of fishing. I leave my heart up there in the backcountry, occasionally I go visit it. I feel so less alive down here in the city.
Raleigh Craps, Soco and Mingo Falls are great off the beaten path falls. I'll have to check out Catawba, maybe this weekend.
BABBs, what superfund cleanup site?I am not familiar with one closer than near the old copper mines on the Ocoee River in TN.
Quote: TwoFeathersATLAxel, Soco Creek runs right outside the casino, actually between the casino and hotel with a couple of skywalks running over the creek between them. You can watch the fisherman pulling trout out all day. Or join them, but I don't know the dates of the trout fishing season off the top of my head. Wait, actually just looked them up, Aug to Feb for most, Oct to June for delayed harvest streams. NC and Tribal license required probably. The Oconaluftee River less than a mile away is managed for catch and release trophy trout. All very beautiful country, and lots of fishing. I leave my heart up there in the backcountry, occasionally I go visit it. I feel so less alive down here in the city.
Raleigh Craps, Soco and Mingo Falls are great off the beaten path falls. I'll have to check out Catawba, maybe this weekend.
BABBs, what superfund cleanup site?I am not familiar with one closer than near the old copper mines on the Ocoee River in TN.
Pigeon Forge had a huge mess from the paper/fiber plant runoff up there near Gatlinburg. It was a long time ago (couple decades?), and it took a long time to get them started on correcting it, let alone cleaning up. I don't know for sure that the re-opening you mention is related, but I think it was. There were all sorts of nasty things remaining in the water creating fish with 3 eyes, open sores, all kinds of problems.
