After a few weekends of exploring the beautiful Table Rock and Ceasars Head State Parks, my people…read moreventured a few miles west to explore Jones Gap. This might be my favorite of the three! My little mountain goats hiked around 5.8 (moderate difficulty-to us) miles to Rainbow Falls with some Black Bears and three timber rattlesnakes! This hike has a bit of an ascension, so be prepared to sweat in the first half of the out and back hike. I love the fish hatchery at the front of park and history around it. This place is absolutely breathtaking, both literally and figuratively!

The sights on this trail are pretty along the river. Jones Gap Falls was also very pretty. The…read morehike itself was pretty flat. However, the trail is all dirt and some mud,with tree roots and rocks sticking up along the trail. We had to bend down several times to get under tree branches and tripped a couple of times on the terrain. The trail narrows at several points, one of which my wife stepped on a snake that may have been a Copperhead!!!! I've seen other pictures of snakes on the trail of the venomous type. People we spoke to on the trail also talked about snakes being seen on the trail. I'm sure there are snakes on other trails as well, but this experience wasn't great.

Peaceful. There are walking trails on both sides. Many hotel, restaurants, bars, shopping, and spas…read moreclose by. The kids will enjoy it. Street parking nearby.

We visited Falls Park on the Reedy for the first time during our trip to Greenville, and it was…read moresuch a charming and beautiful spot. We actually walked over from the Embassy Suites along the riverwalk, and the path runs right alongside the stream, which was lovely. We saw some ducks and made our way up to the top of the waterfall, then crossed the suspension bridge for an absolutely gorgeous view of the falls. It's a fantastic place to snap some photos and just take in the scenery. There were plenty of other people around enjoying the park, which added to the lively but still peaceful atmosphere. The falls themselves are stunning, and for anyone feeling adventurous, you can even get right down by the water at the bottom of the falls. It's a great spot for families too--there are grassy areas to relax and little trails to explore along the water's edge. Overall, it's just a lovely place to spend an afternoon, and we'd definitely recommend it if you're in Greenville!

There are a variety of places to hike around the area. This would be the short hike with bang for…read moreyour buck. I made a loop in 45 minutes or so from the parking area with what is apparently an established food stand. There isn't a lot of space between the parking area and the side of the highway, so be ready. The scenery revolves around several waterfalls, the highest of which surprised me with its size. There is an excellent variety of terrain for a short scamper, and while it is an incline, people with milder mobility limitations could still reasonably expect to get to the falls in time. There is no charge to enter, and plenty of reason to make the falls part of your day.

Family hike #9; yay! Hubby and the boys hiked this trail back in October 2024 while we were…read morecamping, but I decided not to join, because my then nearly 2-year-old toddler was a sprinter (still is) and I didn't trust to take her on this journey. Didn't take her with us this time either; haha. Anyway, they were nice enough to agree to return to Wildcat Wayside with me. 3 waterfalls for the price of 1, except there is no price, because it's free! The hike was lush with foliage and a lot of the rhododendron blossoms had already fallen on the trail; I never knew they were so pretty. Saw lots of snails on leaves, millipedes, mushrooms; it was fantastic finding living treasures! Upper Wildcat Branch Falls was a slight disappointment to me as I expected more of a rush of water since it rained quite a bit the couple of days before, but it's height is still impressive. My boys also found salamanders and even a tiny baby axolotl in the water! I was blown away. To me the hiking trail was easy even with the stairs. I think I finally have built up a tolerance, because my legs no longer hurt after hikes I go on. It's only about a mile long, so it's not too bad, but there is elevation change and people who aren't used to it may find it somewhat challenging depending on stamina. I wonder if Pauly's Gourmet Peanuts Truck still comes around on the weekends, because it wasn't there on a Wednesday; would've liked to check it out. The trail was somewhat busy with hikers, but definitely not overrun. The weather was perfect for hiking, but it was cooler than expected. I should have been brave and joined the polar bear club with cold immersion in the swimming hole at Lower WBF, but alas; hopefully next time. No bathroom facilities are available here, so go before you come. On to hike #10! Happy yelping!

Beautiful falls but only gave it 4 stars because it's the kind of place that you get to it, take a…read morepicture, and leave. After walking down wooden stairs, you end up on a viewing deck. The waterfall is in the distance. It's a fairly easy hike. Getting there is easy but after you do have to walk back up the stairs but there is a bench at the halfway point to take a rest. We did this along with Silver Run Falls, 9 miles away. Both of these hikes are fairly easy and would be good for small children and/or dogs. I recommend doing both of these falls on same day because you can easily do both within 90 minutes.

The area is a very complicated series of different jurisdictions; this is federal land under the…read moreFish and Wildlife Service. A parking lot has self-pay stations for a small fee (national parks passes can be displayed in your car instead). The walk to a first view is short, but if you can handle a stair workout, the resulting platform is eminently worthwhile. I've done my fair share of waterfall viewings, and you could hardly imagine a better sight than this complex cascade and the fall color show I arrived just in time for. A separate trail ran down into the valley, with signs saying there were no more waterfall views; and thus presumably no way to get to the falls directly.

Beautiful park! Plenty of well marked trails, lush green forest and numerous parking lots. Kind…read morehikers, walkers and runners on the trail + plenty to explore. My only issue is WHY are there so much paid staff to issue parking tickets in a state park?!?!? They seemed to be a bit too eager on a beautiful Saturday morning to issue whatever was on those adhesive stickers . Otherwise, well worth the drive!

We have lived in Greenville for nearly 30 years, and it used to be a gem. But in the past few…read moreyears, namely since the hurricane, it has really sunk. The trail around the lake is very difficult: nothing but roots sticking up above hard packed dirt. Trees desperately need maintenance. There are fallen branches all over the place, including the picnic area (watch your heads!). The boat rental has now been outsourced and must be done from your phone using a glitchy app. It is WAY overpriced at $40/hour for that little lake. Life preservers are mildewed and disgusting. This place needs better leadership!!

My boys and I had a wonderful 2 night, 3 day stay in Cabin 4…read more Check in was smooth! The cabin had two bedrooms, a living room area with a table/seating, one bathroom with shower and a kitchen. The kitchen has a microwave, large fridge, keurig with pod dispenser or brewed coffee. There are four plates, four bowls and silverware for four people. We opted to bring plasticware for ease and use paper plates. We also brought a pizza cutter, which I'm glad we did. We were supplied with two rolls of TP and a towel/washcloth for up to four people. There are cooking utensils in drawers and a holder by stove. However the utensils in the holder by the stove had sugar ants. I didn't encounter any other big issues in the cabin, but you're in the woods...I was surprised we didn't see more. Cabin 4 has a beautiful sitting area with Adirondack chairs and a fire pit which made for relaxing evenings. The cabin is located right on the lake and we were able to set up for fishing and hang a hammock easily. My only complaint is that the cabin is supposed to come with a kayak, at no charge. We were told the kayaks had not arrived. In this situation it would have been nice to be given the option to use one at the store for no charge. This was not offered not did they allow. If we are not receiving all the items as listed then a discount or alternative option should be provided to guests. The pedal boats are $10/hr. On the site it said must be 16 to ride solo, however when renting we were told anyone in the boat had to be 16+. Another bit of information that should be corrected on their site. Luckily we made it work and they were accommodating. The store has ice cream, snacks, drinks and Knick knacks. Even firewood if you forget yours. All in all, it was a beautiful time and we made great memories!

My wife booked a cabin on the lake for our anniversary at Oconee State Park. We were quite…read moresurprised at how nice the cabin was considering it's a state park. It was well maintained and had newish appliances and plenty of cookware, cutlery and other essentials but we had brought our own anyway. Cabin #4, built in 1935 by the Civilian Conservation Corps, has a back patio area with two Adirondack chairs, fire pit, and a charcoal grill. The grill is sufficient but next time I'd bring a kettle grill. The park has several hiking trails which seemed to be fairly easy. Unfortunately, we didn't go hiking because my wife broke her arm prior to us getting there. They also offer kayak, canoe, and pedal boat rentals. Overall we had a good time.

Beautiful park! My mother and my father passed away from cancer and myself and my wife have had…read morescares so this place hit a very deep emotional chord. The lion statue with the girl is really powerful. A great place to sit and contemplate how lucky we are to be up and about walking around on a beautiful sunny day.

Beautiful park. Very peaceful and powerful. Amazing sculptures with great stories behind them…read more Greenville is a special place.

IF you want a challenging hike and are looking to score a bunch of amazing waterfalls on the SAME…read moreTRAIL, the Thompson River Waterfalls trail is your Huckleberry!!! Google maps has labeled the trailhead HIGH FALLS TRAIL HEAD just off Whitewater Road. As you turn onto Brewer Road, you will see a wide trail entrance on the corner. We parked along the side of the road near the entrance. There are multiple waterfalls along the trail as Thompson River makes its run down the mountain, dropping approx. 1,900 feet over 5 miles as it makes is way to beautiful Lake Jocassee. There are seven names waterfalls along the trail and 3 that absolutely should not be missed: HIGH FALLS, RICH FALLS & BIG FALLS aka THOMPSON FALLS. THE TRAIL The trail initially ascends about 60 feet but remains at a fairly consistent decline of about 500 feet along the entirety of the main trail. First up was REID FALLS at around .9 miles, but we decided to skip it. A split in the trail at around 1.1 miles leads to HIGH FALLS, a gorgeous 50 foot sliding ribbon waterfall. There really is no way to get an excellent picture of the falls without getting wet. The best vantage of the falls is across the river and a scramble over some large boulders to a beach like area. The pool in front of the falls is better than 6 feet deep, but most of the shallow areas were only ankle or calf deep. Back along the main trail we continued our descent down the mountain and next came to SIMON FALLS, which we also opted to skip. All of the falls (except High Falls) require a scramble downhill to view. Reid and Simon Falls have the least steep scrambles, but we wanted to conserve our legs for Big Falls, the steepest of the scrambles. We also bypassed Rich Falls around the 3.8 mile mark as we decided it would be best to see how we feel after tackling Big Falls. BIG FALLS Listen, however easy the trail seemed up until this point was about to SEVERELY change! The descent to the falls is about 535 feet in less that a quarter of a mile. IT IS VERY STEEP and some areas require sitting on your butt and sliding, other require holding on to low branches or roots and one area in particular requires mild vertical rock climbing. NOT KIDDING! But all of it is doable if you take your time and don't have any serious physical or health challenges. All of the MAIN trail is very easy to follow, but I would highly recommend downloading the ALLTRAILS map because it shows the exact entry points for the side trails to each of the falls. The side trail to Big Falls is easy to follow, but can be very faint in some areas. Once you make it down to the river, look for a side trail just before the final descent to the riverbank. It will lead you through a thicket of vegetation that leads to a boulder entrance to the falls. Navigate them as best you can to get to a great vantage point to view the falls. If you are not skilled at boulder hopping, this area will be very intimidating! But you MUST do it in order to view the Big Falls, which is not visible otherwise. NOTES / TIPS ~ Download ALLTRAILS MAP prior to your drive to the trailhead ~ There are 3 river crossings and yes you will get wet ~ Most of the falls require getting wet for best view ~ No restroom facilities at the trailhead ~ BRING PLENTY OF WATER & SNACKS FINAL THOUGHTS On our return, we were just too exhausted to attempt to see Rich Falls, so instead we used every ounce of energy we had remaining to make it back to the car. I was thoroughly exhausted. The 3.5 miles back seemed more like 10 and we'd run out of drinking water during our time at Big Falls. I recommend a minimum of five 16oz bottles to do this hike and more if you bring salty snacks. I'd also recommend you chug one bottle at the parking area before you begin. All in all this is an amazing trail full of gorgeous waterfalls. Big Falls easily has become one of my top 5 favorite southern waterfalls... but it is a beast of a hike! ALLTRAILS LINK: https://www.alltrails.com/explore/trail/us/north-carolina/thompson-river-waterfalls?mobileMap=false&ref=sidebar-static-map 2023 / 12

A series of gorgeous waterfalls along beautiful Thompson River as it makes its way from the higher…read moremountain elevations down to the Jocassee River. The trail offers a great experience for anyone at any hiking level. If you are like me and prefer more leisurely hikes, The first three waterfalls (Reid Branch, High Falls & Simon Falls) are fairly easy to reach. High Falls in particular is great for families with small children and has a wading pool of water at its base of different depths. There is even a small beach like area to relax and have a picnic. Just know you must get wet in order to reach the beach area, which also has the best view of the falls since High Falls kind of sits recessed into a little nook making it difficult to see in its entirety. But for those who are more like my husband and don't mind a more difficult hike, Rich Falls and Big Falls further downstream will give you plenty of challenge. Although I must say, my husband was sore several days after his hike and while he thought Big Falls was stunning, he was miserable on the return. He said the side trail to Big Falls was extremely steep and challenging, both on the way down and especially on the climb back out. It drained him completely at age 54 and he still had to endure a 3.5 mile hike back to the car running on empty. Knowing him he'll do it again! MEN... LOL Also near the parking area is a trail leading to White Owl Falls. A very short hike to a beautiful 20 foot waterfall. Walk west on Whitewater Road from the parking area and look for an opening with a pink ribbon tied to a tree branch about 900 feet from the trailhead.