Hike Description

The directions have changed since I wrote the second edition of North Carolina Waterfalls in 2004. You can no longer park in the drive on the west side of Sols Creek and access the falls by walking down the old road to the creek. But if you park on the east (river left) side and follow the creek upstream from there, you’ll be okay. You’ll have to make several creek crossings. If the water is up, they’ll be wades.

Climb down the bank behind the guardrail to pick up an old, overgrown roadbed. This was the original route of NC 281 before the road was paved and straightened. The path forks in a few feet; go right. Follow the path upstream about 200 feet to the old bridge site. Cross the creek, climb up the bank, then turn right on the old road heading upstream. In summer, the road is completely overgrown in herbaceous growth, but there should be a human-wide path through it that you can follow. In a short distance, the path ascends the bank on the left in a patch of white pines.

The path follows the creek upstream for less than 100 yards to a crossing. Once across, continue following the path upstream, now on river left, for about 100 yards to the next crossing. Don’t completely cross the creek here. Instead, walk the creek bed for about 135 feet, then continue following the path on river left. The waterfall is a little over 0.1 mile upstream. Parts of the path in this section are very narrow and slippery.

When you get near the falls, you’ll have to work your way up the creek bed to reach the base. If the water is up, you’ll get wet.