Twin
Falls - Pisgah National Forest
12-15-24 The 4 mile round trip hike to Twin Falls is one of the better hikes in this section of the Pisgah Forest. It's easy to moderate in difficulty and bigger kid friendly. There are some tricky foot bridge crossings that smaller kids might have problems with, but a lot of the trail is relatively flat and easy to hike. Go in mid April to Early May and you'll be rewarded with a wide variety of wildflowers in bloom. Twin Falls consists of 2 waterfalls very close to each other. You can barely see both waterfalls in the above photo. The one on the left is on Henry Branch and is about 80' tall. The creek on the right doesn't have a name - that waterfall is about 60' high. Both waterfalls have been covered in fallen logs and debris since I first saw them in 2002 and that probably won't change. There's a really nice backcountry camp site right about where I'm standing to take that shot in case you are looking for a camp site near a waterfall. At the first part of the hike, you'll also pass the waterfall on Avery Creek. This is an alternate way to see this smaller waterfall.
Directions: From the intersection of NC 280 / US64 / US276 near Brevard, drive north on US276 into the Pisgah Forest for 2.2 miles and turn right on the gravel Avery Creek Rd (FR477). There's a sign indicating the Pisgah Riding Stables are up this road. (At the present time - late 2024 - part of FR477 is closed to vehicle traffic, but is open to foot and bike traffic. A new parking area has been added 1.4 miles up FR477 once you turn from US276. You can park here and walk the remaining 1.3 miles up the road to the trail head. I have no idea when the road will be fixed.) Drive 2.7 more miles up FR477, passing a group camp area on the right, some dispersed camping sites on the right and left, and the stables. Look for a pull out on the right at 2.7 miles and the marker for the orange blazed Buckhorn Gap Trail - park here. You will pass the Avery Creek trail head at 2.2 miles. Check your Pisgah Trail map to see how you can begin the hike here.
Begin the hike on the Buckhorn Gap Trail by going down hill and picking up Avery Creek. At a little over 1/2 a mile from the trail head, you'll see the waterfall on Avery Creek on your right. You may also notice a scramble trail heading down towards the waterfall, but taking this will require some bushwhacking to get to the base of the waterfall. Below is a view of the waterfall.
You can't really see it, but the Avery Creek Trail is on the opposite side of the creek. So you could have parked at the Avery Creek trail head and taken it past this waterfall to the intersection of the Buckhorn Gap Trail. Back on the Buckhorn Gap Trail, continue past this waterfall and in less than half a mile, come to the intersection of the Avery Creek Trail. Turning right on the Avery Creek Trail will take you back to that waterfall, but to get to Twin Falls, continue left and up the left side of Avery Creek. The Buckhorn Gap Trail is also a horse trail and there are several places where the horse trail crosses through the creek and the people trail continues on, then crosses the creek on a nearby log foot bridge. This is one of those places and it can be confusing if you're not expecting it, so pay attention. Continue a short distance and the 2 trails split. Avery Creek continues up the left side of the creek, but you'll want to stay with the orange blazes of the Buckhorn Gap Trail and turn right to cross the creek, then bear left to continue the hike up creek. In another 1/4 mile, the trail crosses Henry Branch which is flowing down to meet up with Avery Creek. Again, the horse trail through the creek is first - continue up to the foot bridge. You'll cross 3 more foot bridges, then begin looking for a marked side trail to the left that will take you the remaining distance to Twin Falls.
The trail passes through the camp site I mentioned above an continues on to cross at the base of the left waterfall. You can get better shots of this waterfall without too much effort. Getting up to the better part of the right waterfall requires some slippery scrambling. Below is a video and shots of both waterfalls from different trips.
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