Cove Creek Falls Trail -- 2,800'

The Cove Creek Loop is an immensely popular hike off Forest Road 475 north of Brevard. There's good reason for this fact. For one, there's a group campground. From a natural standpoint though this loop sports beautiful, mature cove forests, Cove Creek Falls, and a scenic walk through the rugged Caney Bottom drainage. That, and by mountain standards the elevation change is minimal making for a fairly easy walk.

As you might expect, the primary objective of this hike was a visit to Cove Creek Falls. I was only intending on doing the entire loop if the forecast of rain held off. It held off all right, just long enough for me to decide I was going to do the entire loop and was to far along to change my mind. Oh well, you hike enough you're gonna get wet. If anything its good waterfall food and lord knows they need it this year! So come along me on a rather damp tour of one of the Pisgah Ranger District's most popular day hikes...

Trailhead GPS Coordinates: 35.283123, -82.816954

Route Type: Lollipop Difficulty: CHALLENGING (Petzoldt Rating: 5.70 )

Hike Length: 4.5 miles Hike Duration: 2:00

Trailhead Temp: 75'F Trail Traffic: 10-25 people

Min. Elevation: 2,560' Max. Elevation: 3,050'

Total Vertical Gain: 600' Avg. Elevation Gain / Mile: 133'

Trails Used (Blaze Color):

Cove Creek (yellow), Caney Bottom (blue)

Cove Creek Falls Loop, Transylvania County (5-28-15)

Cove Creek Falls Loop Hike Route Map
My hike of the Cove Creek Falls Loop as tracked (on a later trip) byt the Gaia GPS app and depicted a la Google Earth...
Cove Creek Falls Loop Hike Route Map
My hike of the Cove Creek Falls Loop as tracked (on a later trip) byt the Gaia GPS app...
Cove Creek Trailhead -- 2,550'
Starting out from Forest Road 475. If you're lucky enough to find yourself camping at Cove Creek Group Camp you'll get a key to this gate and which would shorten the mileage on this loop a bit...
Cove Creek Campground Road -- 2,560'
Starting off with a brief walk along the access road I soon reached the wet ford where it crosses a small tributary of Caney Bottom Creek...
Caney Bottom Trail -- 2,560'
While the road heads through the small tributary a drier option is available for those on foot...
Caney Bottom Trail/Cove Creek Campground Road -- 2,590'
Rejoining the road...
Cove Creek -- 2,600'
Normally an extended road walk would be a BIG strike against any hike for me but adjacent Cove Creek is so scenic I couldn't have cared less...
Caney Bottom Trail -- 2,620'
Oh, did I mention that the laurel were in full bloom also?...
Cove Creek -- 2,630'
One of the larger cascades along the stretch of Cove Creek I followed early on in the hike. This is an extremely pretty section of this stream...a section I could spend quite a bit of time shooting pics along should I decide to someday...
Cove Creek -- 2,630'
A quick vid of the cascade in the pic above...
Caney Bottom-Cove Creek Trail Junction -- 2,650'
Just before breaking out into the open at the group campground I was able to leave the road and get on a proper hiking trail...
Cove Creek Trail -- 2,660'
The trail circles around the campground on the bluffs surrounding the cove...
Cove Creek Trail -- 2,680'
Still circling the campground...
Mountain Laurel
Kalmia latifolia
Cove Creek Trail -- 2,730'
The ferns had started to green up since my last outing, filling the forest with spring green from head-to-toe...
Cove Creek-Caney Bottom Trail Junction -- 2,780'
Not long after passing the campground the Caney Bottom Trail, which I'd be using on the back side of my loop, joined from the right...
Cove Creek Trail -- 2,820'
Passing beneath a laurel arch...
Cove Creek-Cove Creek Falls Trail Junction -- 2,880'
After a quick quarter mile (ish) from the road, the spur to the falls broke right...
Cove Creek Falls Trail -- 2,820'
The spur trail is short but fairly steep and, for a 6-foot guy like myself the ceiling was a bit low also...
Cove Creek Falls Trail -- 2,760'
A good-sized chunk of white quartz lies wedged beneath a rock ledge near the falls...
Cove Creek Falls Trail -- 2,800'
I came alongside the creek as it began its upper slide over the falls...
Cove Creek Falls -- 2,760'
The 50' falls is an impressive one, especially during periods of wet weather (which this decidedly was not). Typically a wonderful photo subject, the fallen jumble of trees has taken away from the scene a bit...
Cove Creek Falls -- 2,760'
The official Cove Creek Falls vid...
Cove Creek Falls -- 2,760'
More debris chokes the stream beneath the falls. Its likely gonna take many years worth of storms to clear it out...
Cove Creek Trail
With the 'highlight' of the loop complete I now had a choice as rain was threatening. I could head straight back to the car or continue on the loop. Since I wasn't wet yet, I decided to continue on...
Cove Creek Trail -- 2,940'
The forest became increasingly scenic as I pushed my way up the cove...
Cove Creek Trail -- 2,960'
Crossing the first of a couple small (and mostly dry) feeder streams for Cove Creek...
Cove Creek Trail -- 2,980'
The lushness of spring...
Cove Creek Trail -- 3,000'
Some overhanging rhodododendron provided a bit of timely shelter from the first rain shower of the day...
Cove Creek Trail -- 3,050'
With the forest dripping from the last shower I continued on...
Cove Creek Trail -- 3,060'
Yet another tributary of Cove Creek...
Cove Creek Trail -- 3,050'
Another heavy passing shower now made me a bit anxious to find the Caney Bottom Trail which would take me back to the car...
Cove Creek Trail -- 3,020'
A bike-friendly bridge over the headwaters of Caney Bottom Creek informed me I was nearing the sought-after trail junction...
Cove Creek-Caney Bottom Trail Junction -- 3,020'
Ok...only two rainy miles back from here...
Caney Bottom Trail -- 2,960'
It was quickly apparent this wasn't nearly as well-used a trail as the Cove Creek Trail was...
Caney Bottom Trail
My fungi identification skills once again fall short here. Regardless, I thought it was quite a pretty little mushroom...
Caney Bottom Creek -- 2,920'
The upper portion of its namesake trail follows scenic litttle Caney Bottoom Creek quite closely...
Caney Bottom Trail -- 2,880'
I was, by this point, more concerned with making time than photography as the rain had become more persistent. I couldn't help but appreciate the beauty of the mature cove forest I was passing through however...
Caney Bottom Creek Falls -- 2,840'
I was actually hoping to get a decent picture of this technically unnamed waterfall on Caney Bottom Creek. It's nearly as high as Cove Creek Falls from earlier but unfortunately this one doesn't sport a spur path for closer access. I had to be satisfied with this view...
Caney Bottom Trail -- 2,800'
Looking down towards Caney Bottom Creek, by now hidden in the surrounding foliage...
Caney Bottom Trail -- 2,750'
How cool is the tree growing out of that rock?!...
Caney Bottom Trail -- 2,660'
The rain was on the increase again and now there was a bit of thunder rumbling as well. I therefore shot this one last shot of the trail, not far from the campground, and stowed the camera for the rest of the hike. It had been a nice, albeit damp, hike and one I look forward to repeating on occasion.