Bridal Veil Falls NC Dupont State Park

Unfortunately, due to draught conditions here in Western NC, Bridal Veil falls was not flowing very heavily.   Note, that this is not to be confused with the Bridal Veil Falls that you can drive behind in Highlands, NC.

Dupont’s Bridal Veil Falls is a 120 foot tall, gently sloping waterfall, the leads down to a pool at the bottom.  While not really an impressive falls, it is a neat area to explore and take a break.  One neat feature: If you walk to the top of the falls, staying on the dry rock areas, there is a 10 foot or so tall cascade that you can walk behind.

This scene was featured in the movie, The Last Of the Mohicans.   At the bottom of the falls, is a pool.  This is the scene for the famous Hunger Games Film where Katniss jumps into the pool of water after being burned from the forest fire.  You can watch the clip here.

We found a large rock, rested, ate some snacks and did a little exploring.  My 15 year old found a northern water snake out hunting, and I found another one a few minutes later.  The later was camping out next to a small waterfall watching for any fish, frogs or bugs that might get washed down.

The Hike to Bridal Veil Falls

The best hike to Bridal Veil Falls is from the High Falls Parking lot, where the visitor’s center and bathrooms are located.  Hike up Buck Forest Road, and cross over the covered bridge at High Falls.  After crossing the bridge, take a right onto Conservation Road.  

As you hike down Conversation Road, you’ll pass Lake Julia.  Stop and both enjoy the view and take some photos, it’s a beautiful lake.  

After passing Lake Julia, watch for Bridal Veil Falls Road, and take a right onto it.  At the end of the road is a trailhead for Bridal Veil Falls Trail, follow this short trail to the the base of the falls.

Wrapping Up

We stayed at Bridal Veil Falls NC for about 40 minutes, and then headed back to the Hooker Falls Parking lot, about four miles back along the trail – We did the waterfall trail, so we were parked down at Hooker Falls.  If you parked at High Falls, the trip back is only 2.2 miles to the High Falls Parking Lot.

This is a unique and large waterfall, and well worth the visit, if not to just go under the cascade at the top.  It was also really neat to see the filming location for [easyazon_link identifier=”B0189HKELU” locale=”US” tag=”blueridgemountainlife-20″]The Hunger Games[/easyazon_link] as well.

>> Bridal Veil Falls is one of 4 different waterfalls you can see on the Dupont State Forest Waterfalls Trail.

Bridal Veil Falls NC Dupont State Park Photo Gallery

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Bridal View Falls NC Dupont State Park Video

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We visited Dupont State Forest and did the nearly 8 mile round trip Waterfall Hike and saw 4 of the 6 falls. The great thing about this hike is that you can adjust the length to suit your needs. This was probably one of the best hikes we’ve taken, and the falls were absolutely stunning.

Dupont State Forest Waterfall Trail

One of the really neat things about this hike is that you can pretty much choose your starting point, and make it as long or as short as you would like, depending on which waterfalls you would like to see. We elected to start off at Hooker Falls and just work our way up to how far we could go. We ended up enjoying the hike so much; we went from Hooker Falls to Bridal Veil Falls, nearly an 8 mile round-trip hike!

However, you could also drive up to the Triple Falls parking lot, or the High Falls Parking lot and adjust the height to your own needs. Bridal Veil Falls is only accessible via a nearly 4 mile round-trip hike from the High Falls parking lot, so it’s a little further out.

Hooker Falls

Hooker Falls is a beautiful 15′ tall waterfall that flows into a deep pool below. The waterfall is also a popular swimming hole in the summer. Definitely a nice fall, and worth the short walk. 

Please see our Hooker Falls Guide for more information.

IMPORTANT NOTE: Triple Falls Trail is not currently open, and only accessible from The High Falls Loop Trail. You cannot currently hike this full loop trail from Hooker Falls due to damage from Hurricane Helene. We recommend parking and visiting Hooker Falls, then driving to the High Falls parking area, and accessing High Falls and Triple Falls from there.

The next falls along the Waterfall Trail is Triple Falls. To access Triple Falls, walk back up the trail from Hooker Falls to the bridge. The bridge begins the hike up Triple Falls Trail. Triple Falls is located about a mile up the trail. Most of the trail is very easy, but the last bit is very steep, but short.

Triple Falls

IMPORTANT NOTE: The Stairway down to Triple Falls is currently closed due to damage from Hurricane Helene.

Triple falls is a beautiful waterfall and spans 120 foot tall, and is made up of three different cascades. An access stairway allows you to walk out onto a large rock shelf in the middle of the falls to explore and enjoy the sights and sounds of Triple Falls close up.

Triple Falls was one of the filming locations for the movie Hunger Games, and several scenes were shot here at Triple Falls.

>> See our complete guide to Triple Falls, with lots of photos, directions, information, tips and more.

You can, of course, stop your hike here, or continue on up to High Falls, also an incredibly beautiful waterfall. High Falls is located about another mile up up the trail.

You’ll continue hiking up Triple Falls Trail until it intersects with High Falls Trail. Take the High Falls Trail to the left. The trail will fork, and you can continue straight along this short trail to go to the base of High Falls or go right to head on up High Falls trail to the High Falls overlook.

High Falls

High Falls is a 150 foot tall waterfall with a covered bridge at the very top.  The overlook for High Falls is located after an upward climb along the Triple Falls Trail.  At the overlook, you’ll see the view of the falls above. Water from the Little River plummets down this tall rock face into the pools below.

>>You can read more about High Falls and the Covered Bridge above it, in our High Falls NC Waterfall Guide.

To continue to the covered bridge and also to the 4th waterfall in the Waterfall Hike, Bridal Veil falls, continue on up the High Falls trail until it intersects with the Covered Bridge Trail about .2 miles up. Follow the Covered Bridge trail about .5 miles to the bridge, and Buck Cove Rd.

Lake Julia

0.6 Miles from the covered bridge is Lake Julia. You can’t see it from the road, but it’s just a little past the Lake Julia overflow bridge. You’ll see trails going up to the left. Follow it up a short distance to a beautiful view of the lake. There is a large rock there, that’s great for taking a break and just enjoying the sites and sounds.

Conservation Lane is a rock road, that is very popular with Mountain Bikers. You can hear them coming, so just stay to the left as they zoom by. As you walk this road, you’ll see a number of Mountain Biking trails too.

Continue on up Conservation Lane, until you see Bridal Veil Falls Rd, turn right and follow the road down to cup-du-sac.  You’ll pass a horse stables on the way.  The trailhead to the short trail to Bridal Veil falls is on the far end of the cul-du-sac.

Bridal Veil Falls

Dupont’s Bridal Veil Falls is a 120 foot tall, gently sloping waterfall, the leads down to a pool at the bottom. While not really an impressive fall, it is a neat area to explore and take a break.  One neat feature: If you walk to the top of the falls, staying on the dry rock areas, there is a 10 foot or so tall cascade that you can walk behind.

>> See our Bridal Veil Falls guide for more information on Bridal Veil Falls.  

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High Falls NC

High Falls NC is accessible on the High Falls Trail from the visiter’s center at High Falls.  You can also access it coming from Hooker Falls and Triple Falls as well.  

The base of High Falls is accessible by taking River Bend Trail, which when coming from the Visitor’s center, is past the High Falls overlook.  You will see it branch to the right.  If coming from Hooker Falls and Triple Falls, it will branch to the left.

This area below High Falls is a popular wading and swimming area.  People are often seen in the pools below wading and enjoying the spray from the falls.  If water levels are low, you can easily hop across the many rocks, and get right to the base of the waterfall, where you’ll be greeting by a wonderful spray, that is refreshing in the hot summer.

The overlook for High Falls NC is located after the Visitors center, going down High Falls Trail.  If you are coming from Hooker Falls or Triple Falls, it will be up High Falls trail and to your left.  the Overlook provides one of the best views of the High Falls, and this is a very common photo spot.   Water from the Little River plummets down this tall rock face into the pools below.

Waterflow at High Falls is very dependent on the time of year, and how much rain the area has had.  When we visited, the falls weren’t flowing heavily, but visiting after a rain can yield a waterfall that covers most of the rock in the photo above.  Just expect your view to vary depending on weather conditions.

At the top of High Falls is a Covered bridge, that takes Buck Cove Rd. over Little River just before the falls.  The bridge is beautiful, as is the view from this location.

To continue to the covered bridge above High Falls, continue on up High Falls Trail until it intersects with the Covered Bridge Trail about .2 miles up.   Follow the Covered Bridge trail about .5 miles to the bridge, and Buck Cove Rd.

High Falls Covered Bridge

At the end of Covered Bridge Trail, you’ll emerge onto Buck Cove Rd. and see the covered bridge crossing over Little River, above High Falls.  The bridge and road was built by a developer who had planned to build a very high-end gated community in this area, but lost a legal battle with the state who ended up gaining control of the property.

While the bridge is modern, it was built using old style construction methods, and is very historic looking.   There are some great photo opportunities here, especially on the river opposite of the falls, as you can see below.

High Falls is the third waterfall along the Dupont State Park waterfalls trail.  You can read about the full waterfall trail in our Dupont State Forest Waterfalls Trail guide, which includes Hooker Falls, Triple Falls and Bridal Veil Falls as well.

To see a comprehensive list of our more than 25 waterfall guides, see our Waterfalls Page.

High Falls NC Photo Gallery

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High Falls NC Video

Drone footage of a High Falls fly over.  This is pretty amazing!

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Hooker Falls Dupont State Forest

Hooker Falls is located on Little River as it flows through Dupont State Forest.  Hooker Falls is named after Edmund Hooker, who operated a mill just below the falls in the 1800s.  Hooker Falls is a well known local waterfall, and popular swimming hole in the summer due to it’s cool deep waters, and small “beach area” below the falls.  Hooker falls is small, only about 15 feet tall, but really pretty and wide.

A scene from the movie, [easyazon_link identifier=”B009CPJ9OM” locale=”US” tag=”blueridgemountainlife-20″]Last Of the Mohicans[/easyazon_link] was filmed here, where characters go over the falls in an Indian canoe.

Parking for the Falls is located .4 miles from the falls.  There are two parking lots, the main lot and the upper lot.  On weekends, the main lot is usually full by early morning, and the upper lot nearly full.  We arrived around lunch time, and parked in the upper lot.  There is a trail from there that will take you to the bridge over to Triple Falls Trail.  Keep walking past the bridge for .4 miles.

The first view of the Falls is from on overlook, where I captured the photo above.  You can stop here, or continue down the trail to the base of the falls.  The trail down is a little steep, just watch your footing, it’s very short.  At the base of the falls are plenty of rocks and logs to take a break on.

Definitely a nice falls, and worth the short walk.  This trail is one of three waterfalls available on the Dupont State Forest Waterfalls Trail.

Hooker Falls Video

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