Hickory Nut Falls
Earth Cache
This .75-mile trail offers a leisurely walk that’s
chock-full of wonder! Hardwood forests of oak, hickory, maple and
basswood harbor abundant plant life, including rare and endangered
wildflowers and old favorites such as Jack-in-the-pulpit and
Solomon's-seal. Listen and look for the resident and migrant birds
that take cover high above in the forest canopy. Cross the bridge
and you’re near the grand finale: Hickory Nut Falls, all 404
feet of it! Dainty white blossoms of Lady-rue and grassy fronds of
Deerhair Bulrush thrive in the waterfall’s mist. Deerhair
Bulrush is a grass-like plant with small knobs at the end of shiny,
wiry leaves, found growing out of the cracks along the rock and
cliff wall at the Hickory Nut Falls.
It's well worth the effort to get to the foot of Hickory Nut
Falls, one of the highest NC waterfalls and one of the tallest east
of the Mississippi River. The Falls can be reached by taking a
gentle walk via the Hickory Nut Falls trail to a platform at its
bottom. It's a cool, refreshing stop and a "must see" during your
visit to Chimney Rock.
At the base of the 404-ft. drop, the water pools again before
splashing through a series of cataracts to the Rocky Broad River
below. If you've seen the romantic adventure The Last of the
Mohicans, starring Daniel Day-Lewis and Madeleine Stowe, the full
view of this NC waterfall will look familiar. It was showcased in
several of the movie's scenes.
Hickory Nut Falls is a perfect example of what geologists call a
"hanging valley," a tributary valley that drops off abruptly into
its main valley. Over thousands of years, the gorge below has been
eroded more rapidly along a fault line by the Rocky Broad River.
The much smaller Falls Creek had a tougher job of it with less
water and no fault line to help it carve through the solid rock.
Even today, the valleys are cut down at different rates, so Hickory
Nut Falls may become higher in centuries to come, as the large
valley erodes more quickly.
In cracks next to the waterfall and even in some places in the
falling water, several plants have found a wet home—Lady Rue,
a dainty white-flowering plant, and Deerhair Bulrush, a grass-like
plant. The Deerhair Bulrush (Scirpus cespitosus var. callosus) is a
grass-like plant with small knobs at the end of shiny, wiry leaves,
found growing out of cracks in the rock and cliff wall. It is just
one of the many uncommon plants that make Chimney Rock special.
Hickory Nut Falls Trail: This "easy" trail is a wide, gently
rolling path to the bottom of the 404-foot Hickory Nut Falls. The
1.5- mile roundtrip trail is mostly wooded with just a few moderate
uphill sections.
HOURS AND ADMISSION
- Adult admission is $14/person.
- Ask the front desk personnel at your hotel or inn for any
discount coupons.
- A Twelve-Month Annual Pass is $25/person.
- The Park is open seven days a week, closed Thanksgiving,
Christmas Day and New Year's Day.
- The Ticket Plaza is open 8:30 A.M.-5:30 P.M. (closing at 4:30
P.M. November through March). The Park remains open 1 1/2 hours
after the Ticket Plaza closes.
To Claim this cache as a find,
Please E-mail me the answers to the following
questions:
1. What is the name of the river below that the waterfalls
eventually empty in to?
2. Due to erosion, will the falls become higher or lower?
3. How tall are the falls?
4. In what year and month did Tropical Storm Beryl drop 13 inches
of rain in Hickory Nut Gorge in about 48 hours? (Located on a sign
on the trail)
Posting a picture is optional but if you can, please post a
picture of your family or any member with your GPS in hand at the
base of the falls. If the other hand does a “Thumbs
Up”, you get bonus points.