When I was a kid, we went out to the old DuPont property on Cedar Mountain for a picnic. Earlier that day they were filming the movie The Last of the Mohicans, and there were still pieces of the set around. It would be many years before I came back.
The DuPont Corporation sold the property to North Carolina in 1997, and the DuPont State Recreational Forest was created. It has grown over the last 20 years to 10,400 acres, and it includes four waterfalls, five lakes, and over 80 miles of trails. It is wildly popular.
Mike and I recently went back on a warm day in February. Off season, it was less crowded than in the summer but still beautiful. We parked in the big parking lot by Hooker Falls. I had been to Hooker Falls a year or so before, so we bypassed it to hit the other two waterfalls, Triple Falls and High Falls. It is about 4/10th of a mile to Triple Falls. For a closer view, we went down the 112 stair steps to the middle of the triple cascades.
Back up the steps, we went another ½ mile to High Falls. We went to the base of the waterfall via the River Bend Trail. The vista is peaceful and serene.
The beauty of these waterfalls makes DuPont State Recreational Forest a must visit. It is a little ways from the cabins, but, hey, that is life in the mountains for you. If we were crows, we could just fly straight there.
From the cabins, turn right on NC-107. At the crossroads in Cashiers (5 miles), turn left on US-64. Follow Hwy 64 down to Brevard(28 miles). Brevard is a great little town to stop at for a bite to eat or to stretch your legs. Turn right on Main Street which is also US-276. When you get to Cedar Mountain, start looking for the signs for DuPont State Forest. Turn left (11 miles) on Cascade Lake Road, and then right on Staton Road (2.5 miles). The Hooker Falls parking lot will be on your left in 2.4 miles.
There are a couple different routes to get there, but this is my favorite. Google maps doesn’t cooperate, so I am posting two maps here: one to Brevard, and one from Brevard to DuPont State Forest.