We have done quite a bit of hiking around North Carolina and hands down my favorite place to go is Dupont State Park. I don’t know of anywhere else in the state that you can do a 3 mile hike and see 3 different waterfalls. So when my sister and her family decided to stop in Asheville on the way back to NJ from Hilton Head, I knew exactly the hike to take them on.
I have done this hike twice before and both times parked at High Falls parking area and did the loop from there that included High Falls and Triple Falls. Not wanting to miss out on the third waterfall, this time we parked at the Hooker Falls parking area and took the very short trail to that waterfall first.
The trail to Hooker Falls is downhill and short at less than half a mile. The trail is wide and easy to navigate. The trip down is easy, and with an elevation gain of only 164 feet, the trip back up is not as strenuous as later parts of the hike.
Hooker Falls is a small 12 foot waterfall and is the most accessible of the three falls. The waterfall is created by a ledge that the Little River drops over before ultimately flowing into Cascade Lake. It is a wide but short falls and you can wade or swim in the water at its base. Lots of people walked along the rocks behind the falls as well, but you have to be ready to get wet if you do that. The wet rocks can also be slippery so definitely use caution, especially if you are with kids.
After enjoying the falls for a bit and letting the boys climb around in the trees, we headed back up the trail. You’ll have to double back the way you came and then cross the parking lot to get to the trailhead for the more impressive Triple Falls and High Falls. From the parking lot you’ll cross over a pedestrian bridge to get to the other side of the Little River and follow the trail for approximately half a mile to get to the first overlook for Triple Falls.
The trail was steep at times and the little rocks and gravel could be tricky so you had to watch your footing. But the view from the overlook is impressive. Triple Falls is made up of – you guessed it – three separate cascades that drop a total of 120 feet.
After the overlook, you can follow the trail to the left at the fork to get down near the base of the falls. The steps take you down to series of large flat rocks where you can enjoy the falls, as well as the pretty views downstream.
When we visited this spot many years ago, we had been able to get right up to the base of the third falls. Sadly there must have been a tragic incident(s) because there were multiple warning signs and access to get close to the falls was blocked off. You can see the difference between our visits in 2015 and 2022 in the pictures below.
Although we couldn’t get as close to Triple Falls as in years past, it was still worth the walk down there to get the view from the base. We headed back up and took a short break before continuing on another half mile to High Falls. At 150 feet, this is the largest waterfall on the trail. There is also a trail offshoot here that will take you to the base of this falls.
There were some people who had gotten close to the base of the falls but it was not an easy path to get there. You had to clamber over rocks and duck under trees so we opted to enjoy the view from where we were. It was still really impressive and you could hear the roar of the falls and feel its power from where we were.
After returning back to the trail, we had the option to continue the loop or double back along the route we had come. Continuing along the trail would have taken us to a view of the High Falls from above and would have given us opportunity to go to the covered bridge that is at the top of the falls, while offering a woodsy return to our starting point. I’d say we were close to the midpoint of the loop trail so it didn’t make a huge difference in time/distance which way we went, but we chose to double back and enjoy the views of the river and falls again.
The 3 waterfall hike in Dupont State Park is rated as moderate but has some pretty significant hills and can be challenging at points. This is the first time I had visited in the summer and I will admit that it was tougher in the heat than it had been in the spring or fall. But it is doable for kids 4 or 5 and up, as long as you plan well and bring plenty of water and snacks and take breaks along the way. I always find that my kids’ favorite hikes include a waterfall so the chance to see not one but three waterfalls in a relatively easy hike is an opportunity that is too good to pass up. Even on my third visit, this trail did not disappoint!
