Accessibility – Moderate+
Height – 80′ (two drops)
Distance – 5.0 miles (out and back)
Beauty – 7
Photo rating – 8
Solitude – 6
GPS Info: LAT 34.97442 LONG -83.05235
Last Updated – 01-01-2025
Home Alphabetical Listing Numerical Listing Location Listing SC107
Note: This one was something I hiked back in January of 2021, but I didn’t add it to my list at the time. It was only when the chance to return in January 2025 that I realized I never added it to my site.
The trailhead: The parking for Bee Cove Falls and Lower Bee Cove Falls is along the side of SC107, 1.6 miles South of Wigington Road. The GPS for the pullout is 34.98237, -83.06225. FR702 (Bee Cove West Road) leaves from the pullout, and the hike follows this road. If you have a 4×4 with high ground clearance like my Jeep Gladiator, you can drive down FR702 and save yourself a long uphill hike out at the end of the day. FR702 is signed as a primitive road, but someone has been down there clearing downfall. The hike to the falls is 2.5 miles and you can lop off 1.6 miles of it by driving. The road has some deep ruts and off-kilter sections, so use your best judgement. When I say a 4×4, I don’t mean an all-wheel-drive car. You need enough ground clearance.
The hike: The hike starts on FR702, heading down. Over the next 1.6 miles the road drops about 600 feet. It’s never too steep, but it is continuous. At 1.6 miles, the road crosses Bee Creek and comes to a fork. FR702 continues straight for another 0.2 of a mile and ends. The less obvious road to the right is the one you want. This road is Bee Cove East, and there is a Jeep mound to prevent you from driving any further, which is a shame since the road was in decent shape with one section of downfall that would likely be cleared if it were open to vehicles. Hike Bee Cove East for 0.5 miles to where the road goes into a long lefthand turn. On the outside of the curve, a trail heads to the right. Take this trail. It will descend toward Bee Cove, and there are a lot of fallen trees to climb over on this stretch. The trail is pretty obvious, and as it bends to the right in a few tenths of a mile, it will drop you at the base of Bee Cove Falls.
Bee Cove Falls has two drops, the huge one you see when the trail ends, the the one below it which you can see the brink of, and which you can bushwhack down to by heading back up the trail and picking a good spot to work your way down the ridge. It’s steep and overgrown in places, but getting to the lower half of this drop isn’t awful. Getting to the three drops that make up the lower falls have varying degrees of difficulty. You can see the three drops on the Lower Bee Cove Falls page. The ‘middle” section is the best of the three, and the easiest one to get to since the woods are very open compared to the other two drops. Like any creek exploration, your route will take you away from the creek to clear one drop and bring you back to reach the base of the next. There aren’t a lot of landmarks I can give you, but if you pay attention, you will likely see the easiest way. We did do some clearing on our 1/1/2025 hike, and this may help point the way.
The lighting was super harsh on my 1/1/2025 visit to the main drop of Bee Cove Falls, but it was much better on my 1/2/2021 visit.