October 7, 2025
Panthertown Valley Waterfalls & Vistas Loop
near Cashiers, NC
What a day with surprising fall colors, two overlooks and five waterfalls, all in the same hike. The weather was pleasant with cloudy skies and temperatures between 61 and 66F all day, The trails were in fair condition, but still quite wet and muddy with lots of exposed roots in places . . . not unexpected considering this area's heavy use. Just a couple of wildflowers were seen. This hike is still worth the longer drive and there are so many more trails from this same trailhead to explore. This was an easy to moderately difficult hike.
Today's Hikers: Jenny Bell, Renee Corbett, Londa Sprinkle, Bobbie Broussard, Pam Hembree, Gerald Richardson, Matt Henderson & Toby, Betty Smith, Jack Treadman & Mike Bell
The route
7.0 mi · 965 ft climbing · 4h 43m out, 4h 6m walking · 1.7 mph moving
Elevation
Hover over the profile to see the elevation and steepness. Your position will be shown on the map.
- Steepness
- Gentle under 5%
- Moderate 5–10%
- Steep 10–15%
- Very steep over 15%
32 photos are shown on the map where they were taken — click one to see it full size.
Photos (32)
Surprise . . . fall colors looking northeast from the Salt Rock Gap overlook. Today's hikers on Tranquillity Point (L-R): Jenny, Renee, Londa, Bobbie, Mike, Pam, Gerald, Matt & Toby, Betty & Jack. Getting ready at the trailhead. The initial trail is a gravel road descending to Panthertown Valley. Passing by an opening in the treeline near Salt Rock Overlook gave us our first sight of very nice, but unexpected fall colors. This Black gum or Black Tupalo was a standout just a bit further down the trail. Coolidge Falls, our first waterfall, is 10-feet high with water flowing over its solid rock surface. We encountered mostly wet trails today with several drainage swales to cross over. This Mountain laurel tunnel was a pleasant sight. Midway along the northern side of our hike we begin to walk along Panthertown Creek. Our next brief stop was Sanbar Pool Beach. "Friends of Panthertown" is the primary group maintaining these trails. We cross over Panthertown Creek and begin to parallel Greenland Creek on our way to Schoolhouse Falls.. There is good signage at many of the numerous trail intersections. Beautiful Schoolhouse Falls, one of the main attractions of this trail. Pam guided a few of us across Greenway Creek to visit the backside of the Schoolhouse Falls. It's tricky walking on those wet rocks. The view is wet, but really cool underneath the falls. A view of the beach and fellow hikers from under the falls. Next we're headed up Little Green Mountain to Tranquillity Point. Interesting plants today: L-Gentian; UR-Nodding ladies' tresses; LR-Ground-pine What a great view looking northwest up Panthertown Valley from Little Green Mtn. Matt & Toby are taking in that beautiful sight too. Thanks for the picture Renee. Headed across Little Green Mtn with still more great views along the way. We found these panholes in the rock face of Little Green Mtn. "These depressions are formed by a combination of chemical and biological weathering." The pinkish-red color of these Low-bush blueberries was a common sight. Looks like Jenny is "off to see the wizard," but on this carpet of red maple leaves. Heading back, we visit the third falls of the day, Granny Burrell Falls, 20-feet high flowing over ~100-feet of bedrock. Toby delighted in the numerous water features like this pool at the bottom of Granny Burrell Falls. Toward the end of the hike, getting across Panthertown Creek without getting wet was a bit of a challenge. Our fourth falls was Frolictown Falls on a creek of the same name. It is 15-feet high and requires a short scramble down an embankment. Our last and fifth falls was Wilderness Falls. It was not possible to get very close to this 60 to 70-foot falls, again over bedrock. Apparently it is unusual to see much water coming over it.