Hooker Falls, located in Dupont State Forest is a beautiful 15 foot tall and wide waterfall, that plunges into a large pool at the base. The pool is a popular swimming hole in the summer.
Roundtrip Distance: 0.8 miles roundtrip
Difficulty: Easy
Handicap Accessible: Yes – To the observation deck, but not down to the falls themselves.
Features:Wide trail, waterfall, swimming hole
Directions:Take I-40 to exit 46A for I-26 East towards Hendersonville. Take I-26 east to Exit 40. Turn right off Exit 40 onto NC 280. Take NC 280 south 16 miles to US 64. Turn left onto US 64 and go 3.7 miles to the stop light. Turn right onto Crab Creek Rd and go 4.3 miles to DuPont Road. Turn right onto DuPont Rd and go 4.2 miles. DuPont Rd becomes Staton Road. Follow Staton Road down just a little ways, and you’ll see the signed Parking area on your right.
Recommended Gear: Good hiking boots or shoes, some water, a digital camera and some water shoes are recommended for swimming, along with a bathing suite and towel.
Map:
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.
![By Gary Stevens from Asheville NC (Flickr) [CC BY 2.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0)], via Wikimedia Commons”](https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File%3AHooker_Falls_DuPont_State_Forest_NC.jpg){kind=link}
A scene from the movie, Last Of the Mohicans 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.