Toms Creek Falls - Pisgah National Forest, NC

On a rainy Sunday (May 5, 2019) I decided to check out a few accessible waterfalls I've always skipped by in the Marion region of North Carolina. Up first was Toms Creek Falls in the Grandfather Ranger District of Pisgah National Forest. This waterfall is located close to U.S. 221 and is handicap-accessible. Oddly, the Falls Branch Trail is named after the waterway located upstream of the waterfall despite the trail following Toms Creek. The trail is very flat and in good shape, with one wooden bridge crossing and a short switchback just below the waterfall.
If you have never been to Toms Creek Falls before, the size and setting are surprisingly beautiful. It is a multilevel falls between 60-70 feet in height, surrounded by an amphitheater of cliffs. Because I visited this waterfall mid-Spring during rainfall, the water flow was high and the plants a verdant green. I explored the base but neglected looking for the mine on the opposite side of the creek. The official trail ends at the base but an unmaintained trail continues above the waterfall, passing by a smaller upper falls and eventually connecting with the Mountains-to-Sea Trail. Given this was my first stop I decided to skip exploration and save that for a drier day.
Distance - 0.8 miles
Elevation gain - 220 feet
Time - 30 minutes
Hike location
goo.gl/maps/yw...
Hike report
www.hikingupwa...
Maps for this hike:
U.S. Forest Service
store.usgs.gov...
Pisgah Map Company
www.pisgahmapc...
Carolina Mountain Club Waterfall Challenge
www.carolinamo...
Kevin Adams North Carolina Waterfall Challenges
www.kadamsphot...

[@BahamJunPiano]

Beautiful!! Thank you! :)

[@bigzach322]

Thanks!

[@carlotta4441]

great video ; as always Zack !! I am missing the video you did about Snowball Trail/Craggy Gardens . Did you delete it ? Which trail ; in your opinion , has the most impressive ancient old growth forest in the Black Mountains ? Thanks a lot Zachary !!

[@bigzach322]

ruclips.net/video/EBTo8mj4gi8/видео.html

[@bigzach322]

The most impressive forests are completely off-trail in creeks that weren't logged.

[@wulfmountainpath3719]

Sat on this one a spell hmm?

[@bigzach322]

I've been busy