Panthertown Waterfalls – Jawbone Falls/Riding Ford Falls/Greenland Creek Falls
Lake Toxaway Weekend – 2/28/21 – 6.2 Miles
[Note: Directions to trailheads for all the waterfalls we visited today are from Kevin Adams’ book North Carolina Waterfalls, Third Edition.]
Jim and I slept hard after our epic Saturday. I convinced him to go for three – only three! – more waterfalls before we headed back home on Sunday.
As the crow flies, today’s hike was just a mountain ridge away from yesterday’s, specifically the ridge between Cold Mountain and Shelton Pisgah Mountain. The area is called Panthertown Valley and it is legendary for its rugged maze of trails and old logging roads, towering rock walls, backcountry camping and, of course, waterfalls. The secret has long been out of the bag and you won’t be alone in Panthertown, but it still has a mysterious, remote vibe.
There are numerous websites and blogs about Panthertown so I won’t list any here. Some worthwhile posts are dated a while back, so also look for the most recent info. Lots of people recommend the map “A Guide’s Guide to Panthertown” by Burt Kornegay, including me.
And if you’re going, make sure which trailhead parking area is best for your hikes: Cold Mountain (east) or Salt Rock Gap (west). Jim and I parked at the Cold Mountain Gap access for our hikes today. It’s an easy drive from the junction of US 64 and NC 281 at Lake Toxaway.
First up, Riding Ford Falls and Jawbone Falls: A steep, worn-out track descends from the parking area to turn right on a wide old roadbed (Panthertown Valley Trail). At the intersection with Devil’s Elbow Trail, we turned right again and passed under a power line cut that is ugly but memorable as a good landmark.
About half a mile past the cut, we turned left onto Riding Ford Trail and walked to the edge of the Tuckaseegee River at Riding Ford Falls. The trail continues across the slide (outside of the photo’s left frame) as horses and cars would have done back in the day. Not a dramatic waterfall, but mesmerizing to stand at the edge and imagine that crossing as an ordinary part of life.
Jim and I stayed on the same side of the river, turning left into the woods where a magical path appeared leading through a wooded campsite. A few hundred feet further upstream along the creek bank, we reached the edge of a very large pool with Jawbone Falls pouring into it on the far side. (Read this great article about how this and other places get named.)
The beach and campsite area is huge with room for multiple groups, and whoever was there lasthad cleaned up very well.
We backtracked to the parking area, about 4.2 miles total for this leg of our hike. Next up: Greenland Creek Falls (Holly Falls).
As the article referencing Jawbone Falls says, natural features can have multiple names, referring to something that happened there or a person who “found it first". In this case, a local landowner figured this waterfall didn’t have a name so he named it after his daughter. Mostly it is known for the creek on which it is located.
From the opposite end of the parking area, we picked up Macs Gap Trail for half a mile until it merged with Greenland Creek Trail. The two continued concurrently for a short distance, when Macs Gap Trail turned right and crossed Greenland Creek. Our trail stayed straight and shrunk down to a skinny path through rhododendrons, and the footing deteriorated to slippery roots in a muddy bog. Having fun yet?
The trail became rocky as we neared the falls, and the rocks grew bigger at each bend – an exciting buildup to the waterfall. What a beauty! (I’m sure Holly was a beauty, too!)
Greenland Creek FallsWe backtracked to the parking area again – 2 miles round trip - and made the long drive home. We were so fortunate to tag 12 waterfalls this weekend, no mistakes, no injuries. Let’s do it again!
Except we always forget about the painful re-entry back to our lives in the concrete jungle – an hour-long standstill on I-85.
“I can see my rainbow calling me
through the misty breeze of my waterfall."
~Jimi Hendrix
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