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    Lake Hickory Trails

    5.0 (2 reviews)

    Lake Hickory Trails Photos

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    3 years ago

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    7 years ago

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    Upper Creek Falls

    Upper Creek Falls

    5.0(3 reviews)
    31.0 mi

    Loved it!! Beautiful falls and swim hole. I can't wait to be back. Water shoes for when you get…read moredown to the water hole are recommended. It's a nice hike with lots of roots in the way so you need to be careful. But definitely worth it!

    It is my absolute pleasure to introduce UPPER CREEK FALLS to Yelp!…read more If you are a hiker and lover of waterfalls, then you just might want to spend an entire weekend in the Newland, NC area. The mountains surrounding this area are a treasure trove of sights and sound for your soul to behold. Amongst them is the highly popular Upper Creek Falls. Now let me be honest, you're gonna burn some calories on this trail so don't let the short 1.5 miles round trip distance fool you! There is SIGNIFICANT elevation gain that will surely bring a little heavy breathing to your lips and sweat to your brow. However, the payoff is tremendous. **** The creek consists of multiple waterfalls, cascades and swimming holes, but the largest waterfall requires venturing to one of the lowest points on the trail to fully view. It will require detouring off the main yellow blazed trail and mountain-goating it down a steep side trail, then back up to the main trail before continuing the loop back to the parking area. According to ALLTRAILS, the loop starts at an elevation of around 3,215 feet and drops as low as 2,790 feet for a gain of approx. 425 feet in 3/4's of a mile. My personal trail tracker logged 436 feet of gain. The lowest point of the trail leads to a wonderfully exposed area of stone that almost acts as a raceway for the creek. The topography is such that you can walk on an island of stone that splits the creek in two for a short distant before rejoining and continuing its descent. I can only imagine how many more waterfalls are below this point as the creek continues its slide down the mountain another 460 feet over the following mile according to topography maps. *** FEATURES 1) There are two trailheads, but each links to the other. The trailhead on the left side of the parking area behind the information board leads first to the top of the main waterfall before crossing the creek and descending towards the base. You can get some terrifying pics on the dry stone near the crest, but don't drift too close to the edge! 2) Once you cross the creek, look to the left to spot a faint trail leading back up the mountain. Follow it and you will be rewarded with a gorgeous 15 foot waterfall. Here locals us the fall as a slide, complete with a rope to help you get back up to the top of this ultra-smooth cascade. 3) There is a fairly deep pool of water here and opposite of the climbing rope is a tire swing to launch into the pool. 4) Continue down the trail until you see side trails leading to the base of the largest waterfall. WARNING: The side trail is steep, but worth it to view the larger fall in its entirety. 5) As you continue down the trail it will once again cross the creek. This crossing is most likely tricky in high water and probably not advisable. It was only at average flow when I visited and I still got my feet wet doing my best jump. It is here you will discover another small pool of water and a large area to camp out on the stone outcrop. Even though this is the lowest point on the trail, it is actually an overlook of the mountains below. Very open and majestic. 6) Once across the lowest creek crossing, the trail switchbacks up the mountain OR you can find the shortcut trail that goes straight up the center! But fair warning, it's a leg burner! This portion of the loop will return to the parking lot on the opposite side of the upper creek trail. In total I logged 1.5 miles after visiting the sliding falls, main falls and lower raceway/overlook. *** FINAL THOUGHTS Upper Creek Falls in my opinion is 5+ stars despite its difficulty because of the multiple points of interest along the loop. I HIGHLY RECOMMEND this waterfall to avid hikers! While I personally would have thought it to be too much for kids and elderly... we saw SEVERAL older couples in the area above the main falls as well as a school bus load of 6 to 12-year-olds trekking along the lower falls trail well ahead of their parents. There was also a very large family of about 20 members (all age ranges) picnicking at the lower overlook, so I guess its safe to say its doable for all ages and skill levels. If you have any energy left, to the northeast are: - Grandfather Mountain - Big Lost Cove Cliffs - Harper Creek Falls - Gragg Prong Falls - Huntfish Falls And to the southwest are: - Linville Falls & Linville Caverns ENJOY! 2021 / 116

    Photos
    Upper Creek Falls
    Upper Creek Falls
    Upper Creek Falls

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    Riverbend Park - Across the river

    Riverbend Park

    4.7(7 reviews)
    11.1 mi

    Wonderful park with well marked trails Feels like a hike…read moremore than a walk which is awesome

    The Photograph Club from Trilogy had scheduled a fall photo shot for today with the goal of taking…read morein Murray's Mill Historical Site and the Bunker Hill Covered Bridge, both in the same area. While at the Bridge, I mentioned that I was also considering going over to Riverbend Park which was only about 20 additional minutes from where we were. A couple of the folks decided to join me. I've been here probably a half a dozen times but never checked in and left a review although I did post some photos. Our group leader was familiar with the Park because she had hiked the trails often but was not aware of the Dam for Lake Hickory which is just upstream. The other lady was aware of the Dam but did not realize that there was a Park just downstream. When you pull into the main parking lot, at the back side is a small road with a sign that says "Trailheads" to the right and Picnic Rest Rooms to the Left. Not obvious but if you take the Left Fork, you go down the hill to the River. At the bottom of the hill is another parking lot next to the Catawba River. When you first to into the lot, there is an observation deck that extends out into the edge of the Catawba River. Great view of Fall foliage from here. If you go back past the covered picnic shelter you end up at the Canoe Launch area. Another beautiful area. We missed it but they open up the dam on occasion for the Canoe's and Kayaker's to create whitewater. At that time. all the rocks you see in the photographs are submerged. A little past peak color but the maples with their shades of rea were still beautiful.

    Photos
    Riverbend Park - Observation Deck on the Left

    Observation Deck on the Left

    Riverbend Park - Beautiful Fall Color

    Beautiful Fall Color

    Riverbend Park - Maple by the parking lot

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    Maple by the parking lot

    Lake Hickory Trails - mountainbiking - Updated May 2026

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