We took an early November trip into the mountains to check out the Wilderness Run Alpine Coaster. We had a great – but short – time there. In order to make the trip worthwhile and to get a real taste of fall in the mountains, I wanted to do a hike as well. My criteria were simple – I was looking for a relatively short hike close to Banner Elk with a waterfall at the end. There were a few popular options but I settled on the little-known Otter Falls in Seven Devils, NC.
Otter Falls is located on Skyland Drive in Seven Devils and has a very small parking lot right off the main road. It probably only fit about a dozen cars and with its location off a narrow winding road, I don’t know that you could park anywhere else if it were full. We got lucky and there was one open spot when we arrived.
The trail map makes it look like a somewhat long and complex trail system. I was a little confused (and stressed) at first because I had read that the round trip hike was only 1.2 miles but the map appeared to show a much longer hike. But it’s all about scale and detail – the trail to the waterfall was indeed only .6 miles. If I leaned over the guard rail in the parking lot from the top of the trail, I could see the end of the trail at the base of the waterfall.
We headed down the trail and into the woods. On the red loop trail, we bore to the right. The boys had great fun running through the woods, climbing across fallen trees, and hopping from rock to rock to cross the stream.
When we met the blue trail, we went right again, taking the more direct route to the falls. About 1/4 of the way around, the blue loop trail met up with the orange trail to the falls and the yellow trail that takes you further downstream. We followed the orange trail. There was bench where you could rest and take in the scenic view of the falls below.
We continued down to the base of the falls. Off to the right of the falls was a mini waterfall from the stream we had crossed earlier. This section of the stream was wider, steeper and rockier than higher up and had a wooden bridge across it, but the boys still had fun scrambling up the rocks on the side of the stream.
We waited our turn to get on the viewing platform (it was plenty big for several groups but we were practicing social distancing) and were impressed with the power of the waterfall. The falls are only about 20 feet tall but are surprisingly strong and beautiful. Water streamed down both sides of a giant, flat mossy rock. On the right, the water flowed over a series of rocks towards the bottom and on the left, it poured right over the giant rock and jumped off a ledge to a pool below.
We enjoyed the sights and sounds of the waterfall from the observation deck for a while and then headed downstream. We had to take a chance at a slightly wet foot to get across the stream again and pick up the yellow trail. It was all part of the adventure though and the boys loved it. We walked along the stream for a bit and enjoyed the views looking back at the waterfall.
There were plenty of large boulders to scramble over further downstream. The boys loved climbing and playing along the water, as well as relaxing and just enjoying the surroundings. There are several spots where you can safely dip your feet in the water and cool off if you are there during warmer months.
We spent just over an hour at Otter Falls, which is a lot relative to the length of the trail. But the boys absolutely loved it. They had so much fun running, jumping, and climbing that it felt more like an adventure than a hike to them. This was great because with a drop of over 200 feet in elevation in about a half a mile, it is actually a pretty strenuous hike. I’m glad they were having too much fun to notice.
We doubled back the way we came for the most part, with the exception of taking the top section of the red loop back to the parking lot. We saw maybe 3 or 4 other groups while we were out there (although there must have been more based on the number of cars in the parking lot) so it was a great way to hike away from the typical fall crowds in the mountains.
Otter Falls felt very much like a local hidden gem – more of a place to walk your dog if you live in the area than a destination to drive to from out of town. But it was absolutely perfect for us. The trail was short but adventurous. The falls were small but beautiful. While this hike probably isn’t enough of a draw on its own to warrant a trip to the mountains from Charlotte, it is a fantastic add-on to a weekend trip or another nearby adventure.
