Day Trip to the Falls...

Just outside our little town lie two hidden gems... one managed by our city, another on adjacent private property.  I'm speaking of Bridal Veil Falls and Cornelius Falls.  Ever since I was a little girl, we have visited Bridal Veil Falls, a waterfall with an elevation of 584 feet above sea level.  After a good rain, the "Falls" are running pretty heftily, spilling into a wide, shallow pool at the base that flows outward into a small creek.  When I was young, we would drive up the "mountain" and park at the home of friends, then trek through their back yard on the eastern side.  We would carefully wind our way down to the pool at the bottom of the falls.  The rock formation has a concave area that the brave-at-heart can traverse to stand behind the waterfall.  I've never done that, but I would love to try it someday... maybe a "bucket list" item!

Later, our friends' house was destroyed in a fire, and a Baptist church was subsequently constructed on the property.  When Greg and I were dating, we parked there with friends and hiked down to the creek below.  When I was in fourth or fifth grade, my girl scout leaders, Dot Duncan and Jean Newman, led us on a hike that started at the First United Methodist Church on 5th and Spring Streets and wound over to 8th street in front of my grandparents' house.  We followed 8th Street until it turned into woods, found the creek, and hiked along it all the way to Bridal Veil Falls, where we ate a picnic lunch before returning.

As an adult, my husband and I visited the Falls... as recently as March 2008, I think... spending a few hours hiking in from the western side... something I'd never done before.   It's very steep and trecherous, but we managed to wind our way back and forth from the top to the bottom.

In studying books about the history of our area, I read about Cornelius Falls, which was supposed to be located near Bridal Veil Falls.  I asked my mom about it, and she told me she thought it was located west of Bridal Veil Falls... but she wasn't exactly sure where.  Then a few weeks ago, my friend John Sykes, Jr., posted a photo of his son... standing at the base of Cornelius Falls! 

John's family has owned property adjacent to Bridal Veil Falls as long as I can remember.  So I asked him where Cornelius Falls was located, and he told me to follow the creek along a fork and go west of Bridal Veil Falls.  He also told me that the city had constructed a new overlook for Bridal Veil Falls that was really nice.  I knew that the city now maintains Bridal Veil Falls and has added signage and a couple of picnic tables at a parking area on the western side.  John told me that Cornelius Falls are on private property - his - but he extended an invitation for us to visit whenever we got around to it. Hey, what are friends for?!

We have been talking about visiting the Falls again, so when we saw that the forecast for today included sun and not-too-chilly temps, we decided to pay a visit.  When we arrived at the parking lot, we inadvertently took a path too far to the left and ended up overlooking what we determined to be Cornelius Falls.  So we backtracked and found the familiar pathway to Bridal Veil Falls - and the overlook.  Kudos to whomever was brave enough to hang out over that bluff and construct the overlook, because you truly do feel like you are suspended right above the falls... and it seems steeper and taller than I ever remembered from this vantage point!

Since I have had such a fascination with Cornelius Falls, we opted to go back and visit this area again.  We didn't arrive at the Falls until late morning, and by then, the falls themselves were in the shade, and it was still pretty chilly.  So we decided to return another day and hike down to the creek.  For today, we enjoyed the sounds of Cornelius Falls from above and snapped a few pictures.  It is still hard for me to fathom that something so pure and untarnished is located just a few blocks from the heart of our little city... that is, until the weekly blowing of the tornado sirens at noon!  If you are ever at Bridal Veil Falls when a tornado is coming, you will definitely hear the warning sirens!

Enjoy the photos!  And click on any photo to get a larger view!