DuPont State Forest: Part II, Triple Falls
**DISCLAIMER: While all of the waterfalls featured on Becauseitzthere can be safely hiked and enjoyed, be aware that there is GREAT RISK involved in venturing off trail near ANY of the waterfalls described here. We advise you to HIKE SAFELY. Please remember that you are responsible for your own safety on the trail. This site and its editors bear no responsibility for any accidents that occur as a result of engaging in any of the hikes described on these pages. Don’t be blamin’ us now, hear? END DISCLAIMER**
DuPont State Forest is one of our favorite places for waterfalls hikes in the Carolinas. But like so many other natural treasures, it almost never was.
Much of the area was originally owned by the DuPont Corporation. Yes, THAT DuPont corporation, the chemical industry giant of Dark Waters fame, considered one of the largest polluters in America by many. A plant that made x-ray film was once located on part of the property; DuPont eventually sold and/or donated almost all of this to a conservation fund, with the understanding that it would be transferred to public use.
However chemical pollution was not the major threat to this treasure; development was. What is today the core of the park, the 2000+ acre block that contains almost all the most impressive waterfalls, was in danger of being turned into a commercial real estate development. The state stepped in and seized the property through eminent domain, preventing its probable loss for generations to come. One wonders if the governments in power today at the state and federal levels would be inclined to make the same decision; the answer is likely the one we most fear.
Fortunately, the result of this alliance between government, private individuals and business created a protected area of over 10,000 acres which continues to grow…two more parcels were added to it last year.
You can read more about that story on the Friends of DuPont State Forest website.
Our second foray into the park was to Triple Falls. As the name suggests, triple falls is actually not one but a series of falls, a long cascade that plunges 120 feet total in three major drops. The trail is accessed from the same parking area as Hooker Falls; you simply to across, or rather under, the highway; the hike is about .7 miles.
Triple falls is interesting because the trail deposits the hiker at the base of this great cataract, and then ascends the boulders of the ridge besides it with many fine views. Probably the best views of the entirety of the falls is from a height of land just before the trail heads downward toward the base of the falls.
Though not especially steep or difficult, this trail is slippery, and we recommend caution here. When we hiked many of the rocks were quite slippery; Sylvia took a rather sharp fall at an area near the base that looked on first glance to be nothing special. Be very, very careful around wet rocks near the base of waterfalls…many of these rocks stay wet all year long and have layers of slick moss growing on them. They can be as slippery as ice.
As stated the trail leaves the hiker out on a rocky slab at the edge of the plunge pool, directly across from which about 50 feet away is the lowest plunge of triple falls. The trail then climbs up beside the falls for a while, and while you can hear the rush of water, you can’t always see it. There are doubtless many herd paths that take you in closer but we don’t recommend any of these; again this area is treacherous and hiking here should be taken seriously.
Above the falls, there is a viewpoint that gives the hiker a good look ahead to the next falls upstream on the Little River…this being the aptly named High Falls. It is one of many that is an argument for ‘highest falls in North Carolina.”
A hiker could easily visit all three falls in a single day by means of a loop hike, going up the Triple Falls Trail and back down the High Falls Trail, beginning and ending the hike at the parking area on Staton Road, near Hooker Falls. The whole thing would probably be about two miles.
However, we saved High Falls, maybe the best of the three, for another day and a hike of its own.
Next Up: High Falls
