Accessibility – Hard
Height – 40′
Distance – 0.7 miles (out and back)
Beauty – 4
Photo rating – 5
Solitude – 5
GPS Info: LAT 35.02759 LONG -82.96586
Last Updated – 12-22-2025
Home Alphabetical Listing Numerical Listing Location Listing SC
Where to park: There is a wide area on the right side of Musterground Road as you are heading into the area at: 35.02876, -82.96418. This is after a steep climb up from the hunt camp, and it will require turning around farther up the road, either before or after you get to the falls. To get to this point on Musterground Road, you will need a 4×4 with good ground clearance. An AWD vehicle will not make it. The Musterground Road gate at Bad Creek is only open from 9/15 to 1/15, and for six weeks in the spring, limiting the opportunities to hike in this area.
The hike: Walk down Musterground Road toward Bad Creek from where you parked. You will see the Upper Coley Creek Trib Falls down below the road. Keep heading down the road until you reach a ridge spine that heads down to the creek. There are several of them, but the one I picked was right where the road turned to the right. The first few feet are stupid steep, and after that it’s only very steep. Angle toward the falls to avoid the steepest parts, which will get easier once you can see the waterfall. There is a huge downfall on river right, which forced me into the creek to get around it, and after that, I was on the opposite bank. Like everything in this area, the terrain is very steep, and the best route can be a matter of a few feet one way or the other.
The waterfall is about 40 feet tall, but there is a huge pile of fallen trees on the middle of the falls. It’s a shame. Without all that crap on the falls, this one would be amazing. It’ll take a lot of water to move that stuff, so I’m not optimistic.
