Panthertown Valley Tour Best Hike

• Difficulty: More Difficult
• Total Length: 8.8 - 10.0 mi
• Trail Tread Condition: Moderately Rough
• Climb: Hilly
• Lowest Elevation: 3660 ft
• Highest Elevation: 4210 ft
• Total Elevation Gain: 1120 ft
• Trails/Roads Used: Many; as of now all are unnamed.
• Hike Configuration: Loop with out-and-back extensions
• Starting point: Cold Mountain Trailhead

Begin the hike on the trail that leads right just before the end of the gravel road (tentatively #474). This path starts out uphill, but shortly levels out and begins heading downhill through a forest of young hardwoods. You will quickly arrive at a small branch, cross on a wooden footbridge, then meet a gravel road 0.1 mile from the start of the hike. Turn left here. To your right is a gate, and just past that gate about 50 feet is Cold Mountain Road which you drove in on. That short section of the gravel road is off-limits to the public.

The gravel road will start out level, then begin a gentle downhill grade that will take you all the way to the first destination on this hike. You will pass under the power transmission line Duke Power ran through the valley in the late 1980's, where the forest is periodically killed to keep it from contacting the wires. You will pass a sign board, then reach a switchback to the left where a small relay station of some sort is on your right. You may also notice a trail heading right at this point; don't take it - continue on the road around the switchback. The road will reach another switchback, this time to the right, and then you'll see where the "user created" trail pops back out onto the road. Continue for another 0.4 mile until you reach a footbridge over tranquil Panthertown Creek. Here is your first glimpse of the tea-colored water which is characteristic of this valley. It results from various kinds of leaves and pine needles steeping in the water as it pools and slowly seeps through boggy areas upstream, like tea leaves in a cup of tea. The water is actually high-quality despite its brown appearance and it does not indicate pollution upstream (at least not on Greenland Creek).

Just beyond this bridge is a trail, left (tentatively #452), which travels about 0.1 mile to Schoolhouse Falls. The trail has been recently re-routed, and graveled, improving its condition. However, it has also been poached by horses, and they have dug a few large, sticky mud holes. A long, sturdy boardwalk is on the trail right before you reach the falls, and a small brook runs beneath and then beside it. A small set of steps deposits you at a large gravel bar at the edge of a large, round pool, opposite the falls. The pool makes a good place to swim in the summer, and the gravel bar is the natural choice for a hanging-out spot.

The creek flows around the gravel bar to your left if facing the falls, and you can cross it and pick up a rough path to the left side of the falls which travels beneath a dripping, overhanging bluff. You can also go behind the falls, but be careful not to trample anything green - moss, plants, etc. - as they form a fragile and rare spray cliff community which only exists on the rocks surrounding waterfalls. You could also swim up to the falls during low or normal water flow, and it is safe to stand under it if you don't mind getting wet and pounded by the cold falling water!

Return to the main trail at the footbridge, and turn left. The trail follows Greenland Creek downstream (level, really) for a ways and this section of trail used to be very wet and muddy. Fortunately, the trail has received extensive work and it is in fairly good shape now. You'll reach another footbridge, this time over Panthertown Creek, about 0.4 mile from the trail to Schoolhouse Falls. Just downstream from here, Panthertown Creek meets with Greenland Creek, and from that point downstream the waterway is called the Tuckaseegee River.

The trail swings left after the footbridge and begins following Panthertown Creek upstream through a nearly level valley. A nice campsite is on the left just past the bridge. Hemlocks, white pines, various hardwoods and thickets of hemlock and rhododendron line the trail. The trail is mostly smooth and nearly level, with only a few rocky, sandy, or wet sections. Boggy areas line the trail as well, and you'll see sphagnum moss growing thickly in its preferred wet environment. In drier areas, and in some white pine plantations that you'll pass through, the ground is covered with ground pine (running cedar), a clubmoss which is fairly common and widespread throughout these mountains. The white pines were planted about 30 years ago as Christmas tree farms. These pines are Christmas trees that were never harvested, and today they make thick, attractive groves. To your left, the stream winds lazily through the woods and large sandbars line the banks in places. One, coupled with a wide, deep pool below a tiny cascade, is appropriatly named - Sandbar Pool. It makes a fantastic place to stop, eat a sandwich, take a swim, or a few photos before continuing on the trail.

The trail begins climbing gently, and then abruptly becomes more steep, indicating the approach of your next turn. At the intersection, turn left. It is a wide, obvious trail, which descends to a crossing of Panthertown Creek on a wide old wooden bridge at a spot where the creek looks more like it's flowing through the coastal plain than at 3600' high in the mountains. Just past the bridge, turn right on the much narrower trail. You can hear the next waterfall upstream if you listen carefully. The trail twists through the thickets along the creek, and gets very muddy in spots, before spitting you out at Granny Burrel Falls.

The waterfall consists of a short steeper slide into a small pool, then a very long, gentle slide over a wide rock into a huge pool with a long sandbar at the far end. The trail comes out about 2/3 of the way down the lower slide. You can walk up the rock to the main drop or down to the pool with no trouble if it is dry and the water level is low or normal. Of course if the water is high, stay away like you would any flooding stream.

To continue the hike, continue up the trail on the left side of the falls. For the next little while, the trail is steep, very rooty, very muddy, and snakes up and down through the thick rhododendron. It moderates a good bit as it picks up an old road bed and begins following the creek upstream once again. The creek has a few small cascades and chutes above Granny Burrel falls, but then it is tranquil and calm as it enters another nearly level valley above the discourse.

You'll reach an intersection with a wide trail on an old road bed. Here, turn right and possibly rock-hop Panthertown Creek if it is down. You may have to wade if it is up, and if it is very high, you won't be able to cross at all. The trail swings left after the crossing, is muddy and rocky at first, then begins climbing moderately on a smoother path through a rich hardwood forest. After a section with a steeper climb you'll reach an intersection with a trail coming in sharply from the right. Straight ahead is the trail you want; the trail switching back to the right leads up to Salt Rock and the other main trailhead for Panthertown. Descend toward Frolictown Creek.

This main trail crosses Frolictown Creek directly above a nice, 15' waterfall, but you can't see anything from the top and it's dangerous to try. So just before you reach the creek, look for an obvious, secondary trail on the right, but don't take it yet. This happens to be the trail you will take next, but the reason you want to look for it now is so you can find the scramble path to the base of the falls on Frolictown Creek, which is directly across from it, on your left. There is another scramble path a little closer to the falls on the left, but it is suicide. So take the first one, enjoy the falls from the base, and when you climb back up, go straight across the main path onto the secondary trail that was on your right as you came in (I wish these had names!) to continue to the next falls.

You should be heading slightly uphill on a narrow, twisty path if my directions above didn't get you lost somewhere in South Carolina. It passes a neat, large hemlock tree at one point and the undergrowth consists largely of doghobble in this area. A few small seeps and muddy bogs will slow you down, but the trail is not terribly difficult and becomes considerably smoother as it picks up an old road bed for a while. It leaves the road bed again shortly and gets twisty again, going up, around, over, and through hummocks and clumps of rhododendron. It starts following a small tributary which will be on the left, and the tributary is what forms the next falls. The path climbs considerably right before the falls and a very steep scramble is required to reach the base. On my last visit, a piece of orange tape had "8 x 8 platform" written on it, indicating that one may be built in the near future.

Return on the same path. Turn left when you reach the main trail at Frolictown Creek Falls, then bear right (downhill) at the fork to descend back to the rock-hop/wade of Panthertown Creek you made earlier. Pass the trail to Granny Burrel falls on your left and continue straight on the main trail which takes you in to a very flat portion of the valley below Big Green Mountain. On the right is a large shelter with a tin roof. The trail continues past this and is smooth and easy. To the left and high above you, the sheer 300' cliffs of Big Green mountain loom above you, and you'll have occasional views of them through the trees, more so in the winter. An obvious path leads 100 yards to the left to the base of the cliffs just past the shelter and makes a nice side trip. Continue on the main path across a few small side branches.

Just past the crossing of a larger tributary (though still quite small), the trail makes a 90-degree left into a grassy area and becomes much narrower. If you miss it, the path you were on disappears into a meander of the main stream in about 50 feet, so turn around, go back 50 feet and turn right to continue the hike. This portion of the trail is much narrower and quite steep and rough. It twists through the vegetation, generally following the tributary upstream and crossing it at a difficult spot once. Above the crossing, a couple of sections are VERY steep. Luckily, this trail is fairly short as well and it looks like the Forest Service may be about to improve some sections based on the orange tape on my last trip. We'll see.

The trail climbs into a gap and intersects another, much wider trail on a old road bed. The trail left goes 0.6 mile and up 160 feet to the top of Big Green Mountain and is an optional side trip for this hike. The views are fantastic but of course best enjoyed on a day that's not hazy. If you take the side trail, return to the intersection with the steep trail and continue straight. If you don't, turn right. The trail you are now on will swing left around a knob and climb gently to a small gap and begin descending. The trail is somewhat overgrown along this section, but it is fairly obvious and should be cleared as a part of the Panthertown trail project. It passes through mostly open woods, but also through a recently cut area with short sourwood trees, patches of mountain laurel, and crackly lichens covering the soil. Just past this area, you'll reach another intersection.

The trail to the left heads back down between Little and Big Green Mountains, to Panthertown Creek below Granny Burrel Falls. It is the one with the wooden bridge you crossed earlier. The trail to the right is a dead-end. So go straight across. This trail is less overgrown and more heavily traveled as it descends gently. The trail will get to a deeply eroded spot, pick up a small branch to its right and then merge with and cross it at a slight angle. Here, the creek flows over smooth, sloping, solid rock, and it can be very slick! Pick up the trail again after the crossing, which will cross another tributary before coming to a wade of Greenland Creek.

You can wade the creek, or you can head up a small scramble path to the right to attempt a rock hop. There usually aren't enough rocks here to be successful, but on occasion someone takes the time to line some up. It may be a wade either way. Once across, you'll enter a clearing and see an obvious trail heading uphill, left. Take note of it because that's the way back to the parking area. Find the path entering the pine woods to the right and take that to reach Greenland Creek Falls. The trail starts on a wet old road bed above Greenland Creek, but then twists through the rhododendron and mountain laurel in a flat valley, crosses a couple of small branches, and gets very muddy in places. You'll start to hear the falls soon after the beginning of the path. Like a grand finale, the trail spits you out onto a jumble of rocks across the pool from the base of this beautiful 60-foot, two-level cascade.

Here is a place I never get tired of. The falls isn't particularly high, or powerful, but for me it's just the right amount of both. The water is crystal-clear save for the tea-colored tannin stain. There are plenty of boulders to sit on and explore, and they are clean, smooth granite. In the fall, the trees blaze with color and leaves swirl around in the riffles and pools. If you're careful, you can climb the rocks to the left of the small lower drop to reach the base of the upper drop. In between the drops, the water flows over colorful, banded bedrock about 4 inches deep. If it's any higher than this, forget it, but if it's shallow, you can safely wade across well away from the brink of the lower drop where the rock is flat or actually slopes back toward the upper drop of the falls, climb the dry rock on the right side, and go behind the edge of the upper drop in a small grotto about head-high. Be careful not to trample ANY vegetation, and the rock usually gets too slick to go all the way behind the main flow of the falls.

When you've had enough (or run out of time like I always do), head back down the twisty path to the small clearing, then take the path you took note of earlier, now pretty much straight ahead but slightly to the right. The trail ascends gently on a wide old road bed which will eventually pass beneath the high-tension power line, in an area where many tall trees were killed but left standing. Just beyond, the trail will climb a short, steep bank, level out, and pop out on the road to the parking area. Turn left and walk 200 feet or so back to your car to finish the hike.