South Mountains State Park: High Shoals Falls Loop (Blog Hike #292)

Trail: High Shoals Falls Loop Trail

Hike Location: South Mountains State Park

Geographic Location: south of Morganton, NC (35.60222, -81.62946)

Length: 2.5 miles

Difficulty: 9/10 (Difficult)

Dates Hiked: November 2009, May 2016

Overview: A lollipop loop hike featuring dramatic High Shoals Waterfall.

Park Information: https://www.ncparks.gov/state-parks/south-mountains-state-park
Hike Route Map: https://www.mappedometer.com/?maproute=722493
Photo Highlight:

Directions to the trailhead: Take I-40 to SR 18 (exit 105).  Exit and go south on SR 18.  Take SR 18 9 miles to Sugarloaf Rd. and turn right on Sugarloaf Rd.  Take Sugarloaf Rd. to Old SR 18 and turn left on Old SR 18.  Take Old SR 18 4 miles to Ward’s Gap Rd. and turn right on Ward’s Gap Rd.  Take Ward’s Gap Rd. 1.4 miles to South Mountains Park Ave. and take a very soft right onto South Mountains Park Ave.  This road becomes the main park road at the park entrance.  Take the main park road to its very end and park in the large paved Jacob Fork Parking Area.

The hike: The rolling pastoral landscape that you drove through on your way in gives only distant, subtle hints as to what awaits you on the other side of the entrance gate.  At first you notice the clear waters of Jacob Fork rolling to your left, then the gorge walls start to grow on either side.  By the time you reach the trailhead, you are in a deep gorge surrounded by a true mountain wilderness.  Indeed, almost half of the park’s 18,000 acres, the largest state park in North Carolina, are not even accessible by trail.

            Though this land is a vast wilderness today, much settlement has taken place in this area in the past.  In 1828, gold was discovered in Brindle Creek, and the ensuing gold rush brought many prospectors into this area.  The rush soon died out, but gold was mined here until the early 1900’s.  The CCC worked this property in the 1930’s, and some of the trails they built through these mountains still bear the CCC name.  After the CCC left, work began to convince state leaders to turn this land into a state park.  The effort was long and painful, but in 1974 land purchases finally began to form the park we visit today.

Today the park retains its rural wilderness character.  There are some picnic areas and campsites at the park, but by far the park’s main attraction is its trails.  45 miles of trails allow hikers, backpackers, and horseback riders to explore the South Mountains.  Although many of these trails are too remote and hard to access for dayhikers, several trails depart from the main parking areas and form reasonable and pleasant loops.  This hike describes the most popular trail in the park, a lollipop loop with more scenery in the first mile than on many trails several times its length.

Trailhead: Hemlock Nature Trail

            You are presented with a choice as to how to start this hike.  You could choose the official High Shoals Falls Loop, a blacktop/gravel path that goes through a picnic area and past some restrooms.  For a more scenic start to the hike, you could choose the ADA-accessible gravel Hemlock Nature Trail which follows the bank of Jacob Fork.  The two trails converge in only 0.3 miles, so why not choose the more scenic alternative?

            Leaving the parking area, the old growth forest (including some hemlocks), the thick understory of rhododendron, and the clear, rushing waters of Jacob Fork, a true mountain stream, immediately begin to have their rejuvenating effects on your spirit.  Some signs along the trail help you identify some of the plants in the forest.  Also, some overlooks with wooden fences to the left give fantastic views and sounds of Jacob Fork.

Cascades in Jacob Fork

            Sadly, after 0.3 miles, the crushed stone Hemlock Trail rises gently to intersect the official High Shoals Falls Loop, which has been following a firmly-packed gravel road.  Angle gently to the left to continue along the High Shoals Falls Trail.  Several trails exit our loop, but if you watch for the blue plastic circles which mark the High Shoals Falls Trail you should have no chance of getting lost.

            At 0.4 miles, the trail crosses Shinny Creek on a wooden bridge to arrive at the Shinny Creek Picnic Area, a large grassy clearing with some picnic tables.  This clearing looks like a campsite except for the park sign which says “no camping allowed.”  What this clearing is, however, is a major trail intersection.  The HQ trail exits to the right to head upstream along Shinny Creek.  At the far end of the clearing, our trail forks to form its loop.  To get to the waterfall quickly, this description will turn left here and use the trail coming downhill from the right as the return route.

Trail splits to form loop

            Staying close to Jacob Fork, the somewhat rugged trail alternates between dirt, bare rock, and wooden steps.  At 0.6 miles, you will come to the base of Hugo Rock, a landslide created in 1989 by the remnants of Hurricane Hugo.  Several large boulders lie around you, while a large area of exposed bedrock can be seen up the hillside.  Hugo Rock is one of many interesting geologic features in this park. A 3 mile geology trail, part of which uses our route, highlights and explains many of these features.

            Near 0.8 miles into the hike, you will cross Jacob Fork on a long wooden bridge.  Looking upstream, you can see some large boulders and the creek tumbling over a rock ledge, but only after you climb the first few stairs does your first real view of High Shoals Falls emerge.  While graceful certainly does not describe this waterfall, words like powerful and dramatic fit perfectly.  Jacob Fork provides a large volume of water for this 70-foot waterfall.  Large granite boulders fallen from the cliffs on either side remind you of the powerful forces that have gone into making this waterfall.

Lower portion of High Shoals Falls

            Some good views can be had from the base, but more views emerge as you climb the steep stone and wooden steps that take the trail to the top of the falls.  About two-thirds of the way up, a large wooden platform located beside of the waterfall gives a perfect view of the top of the waterfall above and the boulder-strewn plunge pool below.  The views are fantastic, but the area around the waterfall is a very moist area, so take care not to slip and fall on wet wooden platforms or wet wooden steps.

Top of High Shoals Falls

            Past the platform, the trail continues to climb, albeit via steps and switchbacks located further away from the stream.  A few benches allow you to rest as you continue to ascend.  During the leafless months, some nice views unfold to your right down into Jacob Fork River Gorge as you near the top.

            After much steep climbing, a short set of steps leading back down (finally!) to creek level above the falls signal the top of the hard climb.  The trail soon crosses the creek on another wooden bridge, passes through another small clearing, and begins heading away from the creek.  Watch the blazes to spot where the trail exits the clearing.

            At 1.2 miles, the Upper Falls Trail joins our loop from the left.  The Upper Falls Trail is also open to horses, but on my visit the only evidence I could see of horse traffic was horseshoe prints in the dirt.  The trail continues climbing, but at a much more gradual rate, on a wide two-track path through sunny, open woodlands.  Notice how much drier this area is compared to the area around the waterfall.

Descending back toward Shinny Creek

            At 1.4 miles, the Upper Falls Trail exits to the left and continues climbing.  For our hike, this intersection marks the highest point, and hence it is all downhill from here.  After passing through a wooden turnstile designed to keep horses and mountain bikes off of the High Shoals Falls Loop Trail, the trail begins a long moderate to steep descent on a wide and somewhat rocky trail.  The bedrock here is schist.  Unlike the granite in the gorge which breaks off into boulders, this rock peels off in layers.  When I hiked this trail in mid-November, the recent leaf fall covered up many of the rocks, and thus I had to be very careful not to step on the side of a rock layer and fall, or even worse twist an ankle.

            The trail uses a total of 3 switchbacks to arrive back at Shinny Creek level.  2.1 miles into the hike, you will close the loop, and a left turn will get you retracing your steps back toward the trailhead.  Where the Hemlock Trail exits to the right, you can either stay on the official High Shoals Falls Loop Trail or take the Hemlock Trail for one more refreshing visit to Jacob Fork River.  Either route will return you to the parking lot to complete this scenic and memorable hike.