Upper Creek Falls / Dunn’s Mountain Park
Linville Gorge to Wilmington, NC | Hiking Upper Creek Falls | Hiking in Dunn’s Mountain Park | Camping in Uwharrie National Forest | June 2024
Our night camping in Linville Gorge wasn’t the most restful, mostly because of the unevenness of the ground — we couldn’t decide if it was psychological or if it was actually physically bothering us. Because of this, we rose early and got a head start on our day. Our first stop was Upper Creek Falls, one of the waterfalls on the Carolina Mountain Club 100 Waterfalls Challenge. However, Charlotte was not feeling up to the challenge this morning, so I stayed back with her and let her be her pokey self while Curtis did the full loop. There were mountain laurels on this hike as well, so I was satisfied just seeing those!
Curtis: This was a relatively short trail, but very rooty throughout its entire length. After leaving Jess and Charlotte behind, I headed steeply down into the river valley to the top of the waterfall and some good views down the valley. There was another couple hanging out at the top, so I didn’t linger long and instead crossed the river and headed down to the bottom of the falls which are quite tall. After grabbing my pictures I decided to make a loop of the hike but, truthfully reaching this point is about all that is needed. From here the trail became narrow and choked in the rhododendron and laurel as it went further down in elevation to the lower ‘falls’. Those falls were little more than cascades in comparison to the upper falls and hardly worth the effort to climb back out of the valley. I did manage an older letterbox though which sweetened the hike for me. Some sweaty cardio later, I returned to the parking lot where I met Jess and Charlotte walking in circles sniffing everything. Between this hike and yesterday’s hike to Linville Falls, we’re at 17 falls in the Waterfall Challenge. This is one of those long term hiking goals that someday we might finish (especially if we keep going to Wilmington), but mostly it’s a nice way to find a wide variety of waterfall hikes in the Carolina Mountains, and for that we’re always appreciative of the Carolina Mountain Club.
Jess: And with that, it was time to leave the mountains and make our way across the state. There are always so many other hikes we could do in these areas, but we know it probably won’t be too long before we find ourselves back here, so that makes leaving easier. If we were really motivated, we could always stay an extra day and do the whole 6 hour drive to Wilmington in one day, but we didn’t feel like it this trip. Especially since it was a Saturday, and the day before had been busy enough!
We began our drive East, heading about 3 hours to Uwharrie National Forest and our ‘go to’ campground where we like to stay when driving to or from Wilmington. I started looking at Google Maps as we drove, looking for some halfway point where we could stop for a walk and to have lunch, when I came across the listing for Dunn’s Mountain Park in Salisbury, NC. It had surprisingly good reviews, some stating it was the “best hike in North Carolina”. I wasn’t sure if that was sarcasm or if that person just hadn’t been any further West, but with reviews like that it was too hard to say no. And so we found our way over to the park.
The parking lot was mostly empty, so we parked and had lunch at a picnic table. From the lot, you can either hike the half mile trail (round-trip) up to the peak and back, or they also offer shuttles on weekends. We opted to hike, and besides the mosquitoes, we had a nice walk up to the top. Thankfully the bugs weren’t bad on the summit, so we took our time enjoying the view and talking to the worker there for a while. There was a lookout tower which offered shade and fans, so Charlotte decided this was the perfect spot for a nap. The visibility was decent, and we were able to see some other places we’d been or had heard about before, such as Hanging Rock. This area used to be a quarry, which there are signs of scattered around. While we definitely aren’t ready to call this the ‘best hike in NC,’ we still had a pleasant time, and the view was better than any views Curtis had while backpacking the Uwharrie Trail.
Finally, we were ready to finish the drive to Uwharrie NF. We once again stayed in West Morris Mountain Campground, which has always been a reliable and cheap spot, and we hope it stays that way! We relaxed for the rest of the afternoon, enjoying our last night in the van for a couple weeks.
The next morning, it rained for the first time in a week, making us even more thankful for the beautiful weather we had enjoyed. We finished up our drive to Wilmington without any more stops, and settled in for the next couple weeks. Our 6th IA to NC drive was a success!
