Rainbow Falls, Jones Gap State Park, South Carolina

-
When I first moved to Greenville, South Carolina from Montana, I was concerned about the amount of hikes and outdoors I would be able to absorb and explore on a regular basis.  A friend had suggested that I check out Rainbow Falls at Jones Gap State Park.  He boasted that it housed great views accompanied with a nice little 3.5 mile hike.

I think whats most important about this instance was that I was in a bit of a funk.  We ALL get in a bit of a down cycle sometimes.  I have always been fortunate to at least recognize these times within myself & actively up-shift to try and pull myself out.  However, like many of us, I was pretty far down at this point and my little attempts to get myself course corrected were failing.  When this hike was suggested, I almost shrugged it off as if it would be a waste of my time.  Reluctantly, I forced myself to go figuring at least it would be good exercise and a nice 3.5 mile walk through the woods.

I was pleasantly surprised!  I will admit that I had went on a few hikes before hand by myself (& Gus of course), but was slowly growing disappointed with what I was finding.  Rainbow Falls was powerful, awing, surreal, beautiful and reinvigorating all at once!  It single handedly started my yearning to check out more waterfalls.  

If you get the chance and are in the Asheville or Greenville area, I would highly recommend checking it out for yourself!  However, I would strongly urge getting to Jones Gap early as parking is limited and generally there is a weekend wait time of 30-45 minutes to enter the park.

Below is a trail review video of my first hike & a link for directions.



Here is my video of a trail review as well:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Crane Creek Falls & Yellow Jacket Falls, South Carolina

-
Image
Bushwhacking isn't for everyone, but when done knowledgeably it can lead to some of the biggest rewards.  This was the case with Crane Creek Falls & Yellow Jacket Falls on Crane Creek in Oconee County, South Carolina.  We had been planning this trip for weeks, but I was looking forward to it even longer.  I had seen several photos for both Crane Creek Falls & Yellow Jacket Falls a handful of times, but never any real video, and all the photos were a bit tough to tell the scale of the falls.  Our little group consisting of Leslie, Lindsay, Josh, David, and myself were met early on a Saturday morning with a HUGE cloud inversion in the Cheoee Valley.  This created a dense fog as we moved up the mountain on the dirt road to the GPS coordinates for the beginning of the hike.  As we parked the cars, the fog engulfed us and the tops of trees were not even visible but looked merely like shadows in a dimly lit vast forest.  We gathered our gear and proc...
Read more

Coyote Falls, Cashiers, North Carolina

-
Image
Once and a while you come across a hidden gem in almost plain sight.  This is the case with the rarely visited Coyote Falls.  Located only a 1/4 down Hwy 107 from the very popular Silver Run Falls turnoff, Coyote Falls remains seldomly traveled.   I was making plans for a weekend of hiking one evening, and speaking to my friend and fellow explorer Leslie about some Cashiers/Glenville area hikes when she mentioned Coyote Falls.  I had never heard of this falls, so of course, like any other person these days in the age of technology, I googled it.  There was NOT much information available online, but I was able to find GPS coordinates for the trailhead, which is really all I needed.  There were a few photos, but nothing on AllTrails and a little on google.   This particular early Saturday morning, I had planned to hit up High Falls near Lake Glenville, then Silver Run Falls, and if time allowed, possibly Coyote Falls.  After a great visit ...
Read more

Mashbox Falls, South Carolina

-
Image
Hidden Gems lay all around us!  You never know what's around that corner or threw those trees until you make the turn or go look. I recently received a trail map from another member of a Carolina hiking group on social media after an inquiry.  I had been to Ceaser's Head State Park several times and hiked some of the most difficult trails the park has to offer.  Raven Cliff Falls by Dismal Trail Loop to name the most strenuous.  Also, the very popular sites of Bald Rock and the Ceaser's Head Lookout are almost always packed with tourists and "casual" explorers.  I wasn't sure what to make of this newly passed along map and I only saw one photo of the final falls which "seemed" to be a large and tall waterfall, but pictures can be most deceiving. Gus and I were game!  Having hiked most upstate trails in SC already and hitting some of our favorite spots this particular Spring, we were searching for a change anyways.  We charged up the camera gear, down...
Read more