This page contains the seven waterfalls we found while exploring the upper reaches of Kiesee Creek, Bearpen Branch and an unnamed tributary of Kiesee Creek in May of 2023. I’m going to list the GPS locations of the waterfalls, and some trail references, but as for the specifics of where we left what trail and how we got to the creek, I just don’t have a way to explain it accurately. The day began on the Blue Ridge Parkway where the Art Loeb Trail crosses the road. We left a car at the top, and already had one at the bottom on NC215. Our hike began on the Art Loeb Trail, but after 1.2 miles, the sound of falling water lured us off the right side of the trail and down to our only meeting with Kiesee Creek. The creek didn’t have a ton of water way up here, but the waterfall that got our attention was worth the steep bushwhack to the creek. Goodnight Kiesee Falls is at the 4020 ft elevation at 35.29194, -82.8811.
From our first waterfall, we followed the creek downstream and intersected the Kiesee Creek trail where ie made a hard switchback. We hit the outside of the U-shaped bend, and hiked the roadbed for less than 0.4 of a mile before that sound pulled us off the trail again. Dropping off the right side of the road, it was a thick mess on the way down, but wow, it was worth the scrapes and wet feet when we spotted our second find of the day. The bushwhack had been brutal, but our day got better when we saw the Lower Waterfall on Kiesee Trib, which I joked should have been called “Better Day Falls,” since our day had gotten much better. The falls was at the 3800 ft elevation and 35.28449, -82.87791. This was our biggest drop of the day, but not the nicest. We saved that for later in the hike.
We fought our way upstream past this one and ran into two more waterfalls before finally making our way back to the Kiesee Creek trail. The Middle and Upper Waterfall on this unnamed stream are located at 35.28466, -82.87755 and 35.28486, -82.87722 respectively putting them between the 3840 and 3910 ft elevations. Neither were as nice as the lower one, but they were still nice finds.
Following this collection of waterfalls, we climbed back to the road at about the same place we left it and enjoyed a pleasant road walk for about a mile until it was time to get dirty for a third time. I’ll be honest. After the last bushwhack, I wasn’t looking forward to another steep scramble through the bushes, but once more into the breach. Getting to Bearpen Branch was the most difficult of the three bushwhacks and the most rewarding. Our first hit was at the 3840 ft elevation at 35.28035, -82.87612. When we saw this one, we had a “Well, damn!” moment. The lighting had gotten better, and we both stopped complaining about the bushwhacking.
With one beauty in the bag, we headed downstream to the next drop which was poised at the 3775 ft elevation at 35.28002, -82.87753. We knew from some map shading that there was likely more to be seen, but you just never know until you see it. It wasn’t easy pushing through the growth, and getting to the base of the Middle Waterfall on Bearpen Branch was a chore. “But Damn!” This was the highlight of my day and as bad as getting to it was, I would think about returning. The image below was the Middle Waterfall.
We had one more stop after this, down at the 3700 ft elevation at 35.28013, -82.87824. There was no doubt that the three on Bearpen Branch were something special, and it made it worth the effort to explore these creeks. Below is the Lower Waterfall on Bearpen Branch. After this one, we hiked downstream and picked up an old road that led us to the Kiesee Creek Trail, which got us to FR140 for a nice road walk to my car parked at the gate on NC215. It was a long day in the woods, covering only 8 miles in a shade under 7 hours.
