Gorges State Park

Getting to Gorges:

I got on the road early in the morning, and the drive was about three hours from Charlotte. There were plenty of twisty spaghetti roads that my car hated for the last hour of the journey. You could tell from the end of the drive as we curved up the mountain that the park was going to be neat.

The visitor center, which is the first attraction as you enter the park, looks brand new and is quite impressive. It is a "green building". Special lights, solar panels, and other techy stuff make it super good for the environment. Lots of interactive displays and neatness. Mountain views all around. I would imagine my younger brother having lots of fun here. I personally liked that they have Wi-Fi available. The park is one of the newest in the NC system, as the land was donated from Duke Power in the late 90s.

Bearwallow Falls Hike:

Started off with the Bearwallow Falls trail which was a pretty easy hike in. A few overlooks on the way and a flushing toilet bathroom stop halfway with a shelter nearby (and a parking lot, we could have just started from here). The view from this trail was pretty and you could hear the waterfall during the entire second half of the trail. I was disappointed we couldn't get closer to the falls, and compared to the other trail, it was quite underwhelming. We stopped in the shelter for lunch and several bees decided to stop by as well. We didn't spend a lot of time eating.

Rainbow Falls Hike:

The second hike blew the first one out of the water. The Rainbow Falls trailhead starts at a different parking lot, with smelly porta-johns that Liz had to endure (this was the only part of the park that didn't have flushing toilets). The parking lot was almost completely full, which was surprising for a Monday. We got on the trail, which only goes for about a mile before it leaves the state park and goes into Pisgah National Forest territory. The waterfall was another mile or so from that, mostly uphill for about an 800ft climb. I won't lie, it wasn't easy. We passed a lot of people, unlike the other trail when we only passed one couple.

We realized why everyone was hiking this trail when we got up to the waterfall. It surprised both of us with both the size and pure awesomeness. The best way to describe it is through the pictures. We both agreed it made the trail completely worth it.

The hike down was difficult on the legs and had to be taken carefully because of slippery rocks/stairs and roots. There are several trails that jet out from the main one and go down to the water, and we took a few of them. Most were steep and a careful climb down, but they allowed us to get out in the middle of the stream by walking across a few rocks.

Summary:

So, between the awesome informative visitor center, well-defined trails, a giant waterfall and a wimpy waterfall, clean facilities (extremely clean - except for the porta-john apparently) and the spectacular views, this park has become a favorite already. I'd go back and do the Rainbow Falls trail again and I'm curious to try the longer trail available.

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Gorges State Park

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Gorges State Park 35.096244, -82.950656