I’m working on redesigning the Blue Ridge Field Journal. I’ve already overhauled the look opting for a simple easy to read interface and from there I will be moving posts around for easier navigation.
Cedar Rock Falls is a terrific little waterfall found in the Pisgah Ranger District of Pisgah National Forest. It is located behind the fish hatchery on F.S. 475 and is in close proximity to Tom’s Spring Falls and Cove Creek Falls. You could easily hit up several waterfalls in this area in one day.
Starting from the Pisgah Center for Wildlife Education and Fish Hatchery, you will find yourself on an easy hike to a very photogenic waterfall. Although there are larger falls in the area, Cedar Rock Falls has a lot going for it. Complex cascades with excellent water volume and lack of debris or low hanging branches make it rather scenic. In addition, there is a cool grotto right before the falls and in the winter months you may see some interesting icicle formations. I caught the icicles on the tail end of the season, but could still see how they drop from the grotto and attach to the ground to form columns.
Directions from Asheville: Take I-26 E to exit 40 (airport exit) and turn right onto 280 W to Brevard. Travel on 280 W for 16 miles and right before you reach downtown Brevard, take a right onto 276 N. Follow 276 N into Pisgah National Forest and after about 5.2 miles turn left onto Forest Service Road 475 (You will sign for the Fish Hatchery). Once on FS 475, travel a couple of miles until you see the Fish Hatchery on the left. The trail starts here, so you can use their parking lot.
Type of Hike: out and back
Distance: 0.7 miles (one way)
Terrain: easy
Elevation Gain: 250 ft.
View Cedar Rock Creek Trail in a larger map
The directions I got were not totally clear about where the trail starts, but it’s between the parking lot and the hatchery on the opposite end of where you enter. Cross the gate and a small bridge and then take the trail to the right. You will be walking alongside a chain link fence to the right. As you continue, the trail will cross a stream and seldom used forest road. After this, the trail gains some elevation and you should be able to hear Cedar Rock Creek on your left hand side. When I heard rushing water I figured I had arrived, but it was just a man made dam on the creek visible from the trail. After 0.7 miles you should find the side trail leading to the falls on your left. This will take you down a hill, past a grotto and to the falls.
Grotto near Cedar Creek Falls
As said earlier, Cedar Rock Falls has a lot going for it. I ended up spending well over an hour photographing the falls from several vantage points and came home with a photo I really like. The falls fits nicely into the frame as a horizontal or a vertical and you can play with the foreground by moving down the creek for a wider view. There may be more waterfalls further up the trail, but this was as far as I got. Cedar Rock Falls is another highly recommended waterfall in Pisgah National Forest.
Cedar Rock Falls vertical
Cedar Rock Falls horizontal
In an earlier post, I mentioned that I first saw Looking Glass Rock from the Blue Ridge Parkway and had wondered how people managed to reach the summit. I later found that Looking Glass Rock is also a popular rock climbing location and began to wonder how the rock climbers reached the base of the cliffs and what type of routes they were climbing. Turns out it’s not too difficult to find and even if you aren’t a rock climber, it’s an interesting hike and fun to see crazy people scaling the massive rock face.
In the rock climbing world, Looking Glass Rock seems to be somewhat of a star in the Western North Carolina area and very popular. There are several sections and close to one-hundred routes ranging from beginner to very difficult. When I heard some friends were going for some easy climbs, I decided to tag along to see what it was all about. We ended climbing Short Man’s Sorrow (5.6) a couple of times and I watched Todd lead a more difficult route to the left of it (I couldn’t get past the first 20 feet and have no idea how he did).
Unfortunately, I left my spare battery in car and my camera died right before the first climb which will explain the lack of photos of us climbing. That’s fine because it was also my first time climbing and it was probably a good idea to concentrate on the task at hand and not throw photography into the mix.
Directions From Asheville: Take I-26 E to exit 40 (airport exit) and turn right onto 280 W to Brevard. Travel on 280 W for 16 miles and right before you reach downtown Brevard, you will take a right onto 276 N. Follow 276 N into Pisgah National Forest and after about 5.2 miles turn left onto Forest Service Road 475 (You will sign for the fish hatchery). Once on FS 475, travel a couple of miles until you see FS 475B on the right hand side. Drive one mile on FS 475B and park on the right.
Type of hike: Out and back
Distance: 0.9 miles one way (add 1.0 miles if FS 475B gate is closed)
Terrain: Easy
Elevation Gain: 400 ft. (900 ft. if FS 475B gate is closed)
View Looking Glass Rock – Climbing Route in a larger map
The hike would have be quite a bit shorter had the gate to FS 475B been open, but having to walk along the road to the trail head wasn’t too bad. When the gate is open, you can park on the right of the road at the Slick Rock Falls trail head where you will see a sign and info kiosk.
Climbing info at the trail head
Almost immediately from the start of Slick Rock Falls Tail you will see well…Slick Rock Falls. I consider this a minor waterfall in the area and nowhere near as nice others (Tom’s Spring Falls or Cedar Creek Falls for example), but it is right on the trail so what the heck, go over and take a look.
Slick Rock Falls
The trail is well traveled and easy to follow until you reach the boulder zone at the base of Looking Glass Rock. Here the trail is muddled, but it doesn’t really matter; the rock face should be in view so just make your way up. Once you reach the base, you will find yourself at the South Face and hiking to the left will take you past the other climbing sections.
Rock climbing at Looking Glass Rock
