If it is a warm day, expect to see people with their feet in the small pool of water at the base of the falls. Upper Cascade Falls is a popular spot and there will likely be others there enjoying the falls with you. You can view the falls from the overlook or walk down a short flight of stairs down to the base of the falls where you will get your best view. After walking a short distance, you will turn, parallel the river and quickly encounter a boardwalk which becomes the end of the trail as it turns to a multi-tiered observation deck.

The elevation change is also very minimal giving this trail an easy rating. The trail is very wide, easy to follow and in great shape. The trail initially starts out paved and crosses the main camp entrance road where it turns to gravel and gradually descends down to the falls. While there are no facilities on the trail there are restroom facilities available at the visitor center building in the center of the parking area. Look for the trailhead sign that is right next to the road as you would be existing the parking lot.

The trailhead to Upper Cascade Falls is located at the visitors center parking lot on the entrance side of the lot. At a modest 25ft, this picturesque destination doesn’t disappoint and is well worth 3/10’s of a mile hike where there is a nice viewing platform as well as access to the base of the falls. It is a small cascade on a small creek, but still pretty and worth stopping for.Just outside the visitor center in Hanging Rock State Park is the beautiful and easily accessed Upper Cascade Falls. Don’t count on this to take your breath away. Here, the MST turns left while there is a short trail that leads straight to the 10 feet Hidden Falls. As the trail exits the shelters, it descends gently to Indian Creek and leads to the first attraction, Hidden Falls. In January with the trees bare, fine views of the Hanging Rock can be seen above through the branches. The first part of the trail works through a network of old rock and log picnic shelters that date back to the 1930’s. So anyone making the 1000 mile hike from Clingmans Dome to the coast might be encountered here, although I have yet to meet one. The Mountains To Sea Trail also runs through here, after making its way over from Pilot Mountain via the Sauratown Trail. The trail to Window Falls actually follows the longer Indian Creek Trail which follows Indian Creek 3.6 miles or so to the Dan River. It is just past the trailhead for the 1.3 one way hike to The Hanging Rock. The trailhead for Window Falls begins on the far end of the very large parking lot, at the visitor center. Luckily, 2 days prior on Saturday, we had a nice 1 inch soaker. The waterfalls really need the help of a good rain to be photo worthy, especially Hidden Falls. These are on Indian Creek, a small, low volume creek. I hiked to 4 of the 5 waterfalls on this day, and this blog will be about the first 2, Window Falls and Hidden Falls. Add to this 5 named waterfalls, a beautiful lake to swim and fish in, and lots of picnic & camping sites and you have yourself one of the finest and most complete state parks that North Carolina has to offer. Here, there is a network of connecting hiking trails to The Hanging Rock, Cooks Wall, Moores Knob, House Rock, Wolf Rock, and Tory’s Den for some very nice views. Totally broken off and separated from the vast Blue Ridge line to the west, they are sometimes referred to as the “Mountains away from the Mountains”. This is a small range of hills and peaks that rise to about 2500 feet at Moores Knob. Hanging Rock State Park is located in the Sauratown Mountains. It’s a good thing that I live within a half hour drive of Hanging Rock State Park. About noon, I decided to get out of the recliner and make sure this nice 50 degree day was not wasted.

After a busy weekend hiking, and NFL playoff games, I was feeling a little lazy today.

Hidden falls hanging rock