Trail Length: .7 miles
AllTrails Rating: Easy
famBeta Rating: Awesome!
famBeta Time: We spent about an hour playing and exploring around the falls. While the trail is very easy there are still areas to hike around and explore. You may be able to reach the observation deck with a stroller or wheelchair.
Toms creek falls truly is a hidden gem. This very very easy, .7mi out-and-back trail is located in the Pisgah National Forest just south of Little Switzerland, NC off of 221. While you will have to turn off of a paved road to reach the trailhead, the gravel is in great condition and the trail is easy to spot along the right side of the road.
As soon as you step foot on the trail you enter a green tunnel of towering trees. The trail follows Toms Creek just south of the falls until you approach a very mild switchback which will take you past the observation deck to the basin of the falls.
Since the trail is so short you can hear the falls from the trailhead. It’s fun to notice the sound gradually getting louder as you approach the roaring water. While tall and grand this isn’t a waterfall with a massive volume of water coming off. As such both wading-pools in the basin are safe places to let kids be kids. Our kids loved crawling all over the rocks and soaking their toes in the icy cold water. Even though it was later in the day (afternoon) when we reached the trail we didn’t have to share it with many people. It was much less busy than Catawba Falls, which was the first waterfall we hiked that morning.
Along the trail, prior to the switchback, we saw several “camp” sites. I’m not certain if they allow camping at these locations, but there was a couple set up with some tunes, a small grill, and some camp chairs – just taking in the glory of the woods.
There are also some old structures related to power generation and mining within the site. According to the write up on AllTrails there is a mine you can view (but do not enter!) near the base of the falls – although we were unable to locate it (didn’t really look too hard either). It would also appear that there is a way you can access the top of the waterfalls. I’m going to dig back into this next time and try to utilize the forest service road (visible near the trailhead) to gain the elevation to the upper portion of the falls.
All in all I’d say there is probably quite a bit to explore in this area and we really look forward to going back and making this the focus of a day trip.
Obviously, waterfalls are wet, as are the rocks and logs that happen to be found around the basin. Wear shoes with good grips so you don’t fall, or go barefoot.
To read about the first waterfall of this two-falls day proceed to our review of Catawba Falls.
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