Took the van (that I have been working on for months to get ready for camping) up to the Great Smoky Mountains National Park...to the Deep Creek Campground. Nice, cold water campground (no hot water, no electricity, but very nice, clean rest rooms) for the weekend. Had a great time, but it didn't end so well...the van started smoking just above Franklin, NC and had to be towed all the way back to Gainesville.
The campground is very nice, and there are miles of trails to explore. The trail up to Juney Whank Falls is listed at .4 mi. It starts as a steepish, switch-backed trail, then becomes easier. Right before the falls is a series of narrow steps down, right along the rock face that the upper falls flows down. There's a nice bridge, with a seat built into the downstream hand-rail.
The lower falls is hard to get a good picture of from the trail. It looked like it would be possible to pick your way lower along it, but with my knees still giving me some trouble, I didn't chance it. Just got the best angle I could from the trail.
The trail actually continues over the bridge and back down the mountain, but I don't recommend taking that part of it. It's also a horse trail, and it's narrow, and deep in a cut in the ground, and goes more or less straight down the mountain...not a pleasant hike, even though the trail is well maintained. It might be hard to get out of the way, though, if you should meet a horse coming up or down. I suggest hiking back down the trail up.
I did find a small falls just beyond the parking area that is not shown on the maps.
Directions and Information: from Clayton, GA
- north on US 23/441 to Franklin, NC
- east continue on US 23/441 on bypass around Franklin
- west on US 441/74 just past Dillsboro, NC
- continue west on US 74 to exit 67, Bryson City, NC
- north on Veterans Blvd
- east on US 19 (Main St)
- north on Everett St
- bear right on Toot Hollow Rd and continue north
- at T-junction, north on N. Deep Creek Rd
- right across bridge to campground office
Note: my map program tries to route you to Bryson City via NC 28, but the website for a commercial campground near the park says this is a narrow, twisting road and they don't recommend it for RVs or trailers.
No comments:
Post a Comment