DuPont State Forest

Many of you may be familiar with the recent controversy over Bridal Veil Falls, High Falls and Triple Falls in DuPont State Forest. Those falls are now open to the public and there are over 55 miles of trails and more than 10,000 acres of beautiful land in DuPont State Forest. This Forest is only about 20 minutes from the campus. For much more information refer to http://www.dupontforest.com/ Below are several photos from that website.
 

Location of DuPont State Forest	Hooker Falls - photo by J. Jennings

http://www.dupontforest.com/directions.asp - here you can find wonderful directions and maps of the area.

Driving directions**: From the college, drive right on Broad Street for several miles until you get to the intersection with Rt. 64 East(near the Wal-Mart store). Turn right on U.S. 64 and travel 3.7 miles to the Texaco Station in Penrose. Turn right on Crab Creek Road and continue 4.3 miles and then turn right on DuPont Road. This road will turn into Staton Road. Two parking lots for DuPont Forest are located off this road. The first is on the right in 3.1 miles (just before you cross the Little River bridge - it is the Hooker Falls parking area). The second parking lot is on the left about 1 mile further up the road (at Buck Forest Road). Park at Hooker Falls parking area (the one on the right before you get to the Little River Bridge).

Hiking directions- From Hooker Falls parking area you can easily see Hooker Falls by hiking down river 0.25 miles on Hooker Falls Road. Take the path at the end of the parking lot, and hike go about 20 yards, then bear left on Hooker Falls Trail and go along the river 0.25 miles to view Hooker Falls. You can look at them from the overlook, or continue down to the left to get to the water. Hooker Falls drops only about 11', but is very wide. It drops down into Cascade Lake and is a popular swimming hole in warm weather. Return back the way you came to the parking lot. From there you can continue hiking to see Triple Falls (directions below) or return to Brevard or drive 1 mile farther up Staton Road to Buck Forest Parking Lot and park there to do more hiking.

To see Triple Falls from Hooker Falls Parking Lot - walk across the main highway (Staton Road), carefully looking out for traffic. Walk along the shoulder of the road towards the bridge and cross the bridge. Go across the guard rail, walk down an incline and take either of 2 paths up to Triple Falls. Each path (Triple Falls Trail or Galax Trail) is about 0.3-0.4 miles long - Triple Falls trail will be the one that goes along the river then climbs steeply to Triple Falls, while Galax Trail will be the one that has switch backs as you head up to Triple Falls. If you take Triple Falls trail you will hike along the river for the first 0.2 miles, then will bend to the right and climb steeply for another 0.2 miles to reach Triple Falls Galax trail will use switchback to make the climb up to Triple Falls. Triple Falls consists of 3 different cascades with about a 120’ total vertical drop across the granite rock.

From Triple Falls you can return to the Hooker Falls Parking lot reversing direction on either of the trails described above, or you could continue on up to High Falls (about a 15 minute hike farther upstream).

To get to High Falls from Triple Falls, continue up Triple Falls Trail until it ends at the intersection with High Falls Trail (you’ll see a sign for High Falls). Turn left and hike about ½ mile heading upstream along the Little River. You’ll come to an intersection (which didn’t seem very well marked - but there is a clear wide path heading up to the right) - turn right at that trail junction and head up a moderately steep hill (still on High Falls Trail) to see excellent views of High Falls. Once you get there, you can sit on a bench and view the falls or take some steep steps up to the right. Those will take you up a short distance to the High Falls picnic shelter. You could also continue following the High Falls Trail to the bottom of the falls. Be aware, the rocks are slippery if you head to the water. High Falls is the tallest of the Little River falls, at 150’. To return to the Hooker Falls parking area, retrace your path down to Triple Falls, then on down to the Hooker Falls parking area via either Galax trail or Triple Falls Trail.

Note:- you could also do this hike in reverse (by parking at Buck Forest Parking lot (1 mile farther up the road from Hooker Falls Parking Lot) and following the directions from that point.
 

Triple Falls - photo by Bill Thomas	High Falls- photo by J. Jennings

• *As always, when hiking you should always:
• Hike with someone
• Let others know where you are going and when you expect to return
• Wear appropriate footwear and clothing (carry rain gear)
• Carry water (and snacks)
• Have a map of the area (available downtown at the Visitors Center)

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