Bridal Veil Falls - Member Hike

Hike Name: Bridal Veil Falls
Country: United States
State: North Carolina
Nearby Town: Hendersonville
Rating: 4 stars
Directions: Bridal Veil Falls can be accessed from either the Hooker Falls or Fawn Lake parking areas. A key section of trail was opened in early 2008 which connects the top of High Falls to Bridal Veil. If you want to see Triple, High, and Bridal Veil Falls in the same day, use the Hooker Falls parking area. The hike is 2 1/2 to 3 miles one way and is moderate in difficulty. The trails are gravel roads so they are easy to walk on - it's the elevation changes that add to the difficulty somewhat. The hike is kid friendly if you think they are willing to hike that far. If you just want to see Bridal Veil Falls, the hike from Fawn Lake access is about 2 miles and about the same difficulty.

From the south side of the Hooker Falls parking lot, take the stairs up to Staton Road and carefully cross towards the opposite side of the bridge. Take the stairs down and connect with the Triple Falls Trail that heads up river. It's less than 1/2 mile to Triple Falls. Continue past Triple Falls a short ways and bear left on the High Falls Trail. You'll be walking along a calm section of Little River between Triple and High Falls. After about 1/4 mile come to a fork - continue to the right on the High Falls Trail. It's less than 1/4 mile uphill to the trail side view of High Falls and the picnic tables above. Continue a short distance up to an intersection and turn left which heads up to Buck Forest Rd and the covered bridge. Continue over the bridge and the short distance up to Conservation Rd. Turn right on Conservation Rd. Part of this road was recently opened to the public and I don't have a mileage, but it appears to be about 1 1/2 miles before you turn right on Bridal Veil Falls Rd. You will have passed Lake Julia on your left. Bridal Veil Falls Rd ends near the base of the waterfall after about 1/2 mile and passes a nice horse barn on the left.

From the Fawn Lake access, look for and take the Reasonover Creek Trail. Cross under the power lines and in a short distance turn left on Conservation Rd. Hike it for about 2 miles to the left turn for Bridal Veil Falls Rd. You will pass a small air strip, a private residence, a maintenance building and a log house along the way. Just be sure to stay on Conservation Rd until the left turn.

Bridal Veil Falls is a long slide along a wide section of open bedrock. The small free fall at the top is maybe 10' high. You can't see the entire waterfall from any one vantage point because of the slope. Walking along the bedrock is discouraged, but you'll probably see lots of folks doing it. It's fairly safe if you can stay on the dry bedrock. The wet parts will be very slippery and it would be easy to slip and crack your skull. Or worse, if you or your kids slip into the main flow, you or them will be a goner. The following images were shot along parts of the slide.

Also, The Last of the Mohicans, and The Hunger Games filming location.

http://www.dupontforest.com/explore2028.html

http://www.romanticasheville.com/dupont_bridal_veil_falls.htm
Total Hike Distance: 7.00 miles
Hike Difficulty: Moderate to Difficult
Permit Required: No
Hike Type: Roundtrip, Loop Hike
Hike Starts/Ends: Hooker Falls
Trails Used: From the High Falls Parking area: Take the Buck Forest Road over the covered bridge. Just after the bridge, take a right on Conservation Road. Take this 1.1 miles to Bridal Veil Falls trail on the right and go 1/2 mile to the end. On that trail, you will pass a horse barn on the left with pumps for fresh drinking water if you need a refill. (For the recommended Three Lake Trail detour, turn left on Joanna Road about 1/10 mile from the start of Conservation Road. Travel Joanna Road about 1/10 mile to Three Lakes Trail on the right. This 7/10-mile trail ends back on Conservation Road - so take a left to continue to Bridal Veil.)

To hike from the Fawn Lake Access Area, turn right 0.10 miles and take the first left on Conservation Road for 1.70 miles past the airstrip and turn left on Bridal Veil Falls Road 0.53 miles to the base of the Bridal Veil Falls.
Backcountry Campsites: No
Backcountry Water Sources: Streams, Rivers, Lakes
Management: State Forest Service
Contact Information: Unknown
Best Season: Spring
Users: Hikers, Bikers, Dogs, Horses
Road Conditions: Maintained Gravel or Dirt Roads, Private Roads
Hike Summary: Bridal Veil Falls in DuPont State Forest is certainly a beautiful spot to explore. You can enjoy the 120-foot tall falls from many angles, including from an observation deck, flat rocks at the base of the waterfall, along the side, at the top and even underneath! When water levels are not too high, you can walk behind the top 10-foot drop of the falls (like was done in the movie The Last of the Mohicans). It was most recently it was a Hunger Games film location.

The waterfall cascades down a long granite slope. All of this rock gives you plenty of places to safely explore (when rock is dry!) and great locations for a picnic and photos. A reminder, wet rocks around waterfalls can be very slippery and are the cause of many injuries. Hike to Bridal Veil from either the High Falls or Fawn Lake parking areas.

We suggest parking at the High Falls parking area (complete with restrooms and visitor center). The hike to the Bridal Veil Falls is 4.4 miles roundtrip. Most of the hike is on wide gravel roads (great for mountain biking) with no steep sections and not much elevation gain. On the way to or from, hike to Grassy Creek Falls (and extra 1.6 miles) or take the scenic, wooded Three Lakes Trail (an extra 1/2 mile) that takes you by Lake Dense, Lake Alford and Lake Julia. Or extend your hike to seven miles by including High Falls and Triple Falls.

DuPont State Forest is home to many waterfalls, including the nearby High Falls, Triple Falls and Hooker Falls.

Hiker:

davania

500 points


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