RATtreks

Wolf Creek, Dudley, and Kelly Falls – 7-31-2011

I had the distinct pleasure of accompanying my friend Dave Aldridge on an awesome waterfall adventure on the last day of July 2011. He took me to a place I had been wanting to go to for some time now as he had been there a couple of times already and was more than happy to share it with me. After a mid-morning start and a large cup of cappuccino we made our way towards the town of Hot Springs, North Carolina. Taking the back way off route 70 to 107 towards Del Rio where we would get on 25/70, we arrived at the trail head after about an hour or so worth of driving. The scenery in this part of the country is spectacular and I enjoyed every mile of it. From the Forest Service gate where we parked, the road was mostly downhill gradually to the falls. Of course this is the easy and not very well known way to get to these falls.There are other ways to access them, one being from the Wolf Creek Trail-head which is located off hwy 25/70 before you get to the secret route we used. It is a much longer hike, mostly uphill going that way. The other way would require a lot of driving and much of it on high mountain gravel roads some of which are very narrow. This would be from Max Patch through Lemon Gap and then Rattlesnake Gap where you could eventually drive to within 1/4 mile of the falls. The lesser known route we took  (Shutin Creek) is an easier and much shorter drive with a less than 4 mile round trip hike is by far the best way to go.

Wolf Creek Falls

Hiking down the smooth forest road behind the gate was easy and pleasantly soon opened up to some nice views before descending further into the woods where we eventually came into an intersection where a creek and the gravel road from Rattlesnake Gap joined the road we were on. Taking a right here it was only about 1/4 mile of smooth road to the top of the falls going through a creek along the way. The road continues past the falls going over a dirt hump and a mud puddle which then leads a long way down to the Wolf Creek Trail Head  a few miles below but there is a short side trail around the right side of the falls which leads down to the bottom which is incredibly scenic. We went there first and proceeded to enjoy its beauty and wait for clouds to come over so we could get some decent shots of the falls. The water level was perfect on this trip which was surprising as it has been so dry in our area but seems there was no shortage of water here or in Western North Carolina.

Wolf Creek Falls

Wolf Creek Falls

Wolf Creek Falls

After spending quite a bit of time at the base we moved up to the top of the falls for a different point of view before returning back to our vehicle the way we came.

Wolf Creek Falls (top view)

Wolf Creek Falls (top view)

Wolf Creek Falls (top view)

It was still fairly early in the day so we decided to return by way of Paint Creek in order to go by two more waterfalls, Dudley and Kelly Falls however, we went the wrong way and ended up on a dead end road and instead of going closer to Hot Springs where the right road was, we went back the way we came and then accessed Paint Creek from the upper end. This road was very crowded as it was a Sunday and scores of people were swimming at the large water hole below Dudley Falls and it was even hard to get a parking spot. We stayed long enough to get a few shots of the falls and a video of two young boys jumping off the high cliffs beside the falls before we left making our way back up the narrow road to Kelly Falls.

Dudley Falls

Dudley Falls

Dudley Falls

Both falls are right beside the road and not the largest falls in the world but both offer their own unique characteristics. Kelly is slightly higher and the larger of the two but harder to access for picture taking. The sun was very high in the sky at this time and no clouds in sight so getting any usable shots would be nearly impossible. No worries as these are close by and easy to drive to. We stopped at a bridge between the two falls and climbed down underneath to check out some cool cascades and a really beautiful area there before continuing on to Kelly Falls.

Kelly Falls

Kelly Falls

Kelly Falls

We spent as much time as we could there before heading home. Although we only hiked about 4 miles total, we both still felt tired like we had hiked much farther. It was a great day to be in the woods and I am sure I will be returning to Wolf Creek Falls many times in the future as they are undoubtedly now one of my favorite falls.

Cool old train thing found along Paint Creek

Pic I took of Coldspring Mtn. at 60 mph on the way home !

Visit our Gallery here for more photo`s of these falls and more.