Hickory Nut Falls, also known as Hickorynut Falls, is a waterfall located at

Chimney Rock State Park Chimney Rock State Park is a North Carolina state park in Chimney Rock, Rutherford County, North Carolina in the United States. The park is located southeast of Asheville, North Carolina, and is owned and managed by the state of North Carolin ...

in Rutherford County,

North Carolina North Carolina () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States. The state is the 28th largest and 9th-most populous of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, Georgia and So ...

History

Hickory Nut Falls flows on Fall Creek through the Hickory Nut Gorge, and is part of

Chimney Rock Park Chimney Rock State Park is a North Carolina state park in Chimney Rock, Rutherford County, North Carolina in the United States. The park is located southeast of Asheville, North Carolina, and is owned and managed by the state of North Carolin ...

, a park that was privately owned until May 2007, when the State of North Carolina completed the purchase of the park.{{cite press release, url=http://www.ncparks.gov/News/releases/release.php?id=8, date=May 21, 2007, title=Gov. Easley Announces State Now Owns Chimney Rock Park, publisher=N.C. Dept. of Environment and Natural Resources Chimney Rock Park and the Hickory Nut Gorge are being developed into a state park. Prior to 2007, the park and the falls were owned by the Morse family, and were widely known to Southerners for over 100 years. National attention came to the park and the falls when they were featured in the 1992 film ''

The Last of the Mohicans ''The Last of the Mohicans: A Narrative of 1757'' is a historical romance written by James Fenimore Cooper in 1826. It is the second book of the '' Leatherstocking Tales'' pentalogy and the best known to contemporary audiences. '' The Pathfinde ...

''. The park was heavily featured at the end, and the final fight scene between Chingachgook and Magua was filmed at the brink of the falls.

Visiting the Falls

Visitors to the falls may view it from U. S. Highway 64 for free. To view the falls more closely, visitors must pay an admission fee ($17 for adults, $8 for children as of 2019Chimney Rock Park Admission Information, Hours and Rates
/ref>) at the park gate. After admission, visitors may hike the moderate-difficulty 1.5-mile round-trip Hickory Nut Falls Trail to the base of the falls. In 2017, the improved Skyline trail to the top of the falls was reopened.

Nearby Falls

There are several falls above the main drop of Hickory Nut Falls. Other falls in the area include: * Rainbow Falls (Rutherford County) * Camp Minnehaha Falls - a cascade on Grassy Creek that has a winter roadside view. To see the falls, from the Intersection of US 74A and NC 9, go .8 miles north. Parks in the pullout on the left just before the guardrail. * The Cascades - a waterfall on Grassy Creek upstream from Camp Minnehaha Falls that is on private property * Pool Creek Falls - a slide waterfall in an area currently restricted to public access, but that will be part of the new State Park * Wolf Creek Falls - another waterfall in the same restricted area

References

External links

Hickory Nut FallsHickory Nut Falls in Rutherford County, NCPhotos of Hickory Nut Waterfalls at Chimney Rock State Park
Protected areas of Rutherford County, North Carolina Waterfalls of North Carolina Landforms of Rutherford County, North Carolina