Upper Bee Branch Falls
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Paired with Bee Branch Falls, less than 0.2 miles downstream, this waterfall is a terrific outing for bushwhacking waterfallers. It provides a great option for a long shuttle hike, so you don’t have to backtrack.
You can access the falls from Blue Ridge Parkway above or North Mills River area of Pisgah National Forest below. The hike from below passes right by Waterfall on Long Branch, then takes you to Hendersonville Reservoir Dam and Waterfall 1 on Fletcher Creek.
The Directions provide details on all the hiking options.
(065Z1B-266928)
Driving Directions
Pisgah National Forest trailhead. From NC 280 in Mills River, turn on North Mills River Road and drive 4.9 miles to FS 5000 (Wash Creek Road) on the right, at North Mills River Recreation Area. Follow FS 5000 for 2.0 miles (becomes unpaved at 0.3 miles) and take the left fork onto FS 142. Drive 0.5 miles to Trace Ridge Trailhead at the end of the road.
Blue Ridge Parkway trailhead. The trail begins on the south end of Little Pisgah Ridge Tunnel, which is at Milepost 406.9 and approximately 1.7 miles north of Mount Pisgah Inn.
Shuttle info. My favorite way to hike to this falls and the lower one is a shuttle hike, leaving a car at the lower trailhead and starting the hike from Blue Ridge Parkway (at my age, I prefer hiking downhill whenever possible). After leaving a car at the lower trailhead, the quickest way to reach the upper trailhead is to drive back on FS 142 to FS 5000 but don’t turn right on go back to North Mills Recreation Area. Instead, make a sharp left turn and drive 3.75 miles to Blue Ridge Parkway. Turn left on the parkway and drive south to the trailhead.
Hiking Directions
Quick Glance
No quickie here!
Detailed Look
From Trace Ridge Trailhead in Pisgah National Forest. This is the longest route to the falls, but it lets you see all the other waterfalls mentioned in the overview. I wouldn’t do an out-and-back hike from this trailhead, though. A shuttle hike (see Driving Directions) is the best option to see all the falls.
Two gated forest roads, close together, begin from the trailhead. FS 5097 is on the right and the continuation of FS 142 is to the left. Take FS 142 and hike 1.6 miles to Hendersonville Reservoir. (Along the way you’ll pass by Waterfall on Long Branch.)
At the lake, take the trail to the right that leads a short distance to the top of Waterfall 1 on Fletcher Creek. Cross the creek and begin hiking Big Creek Trail. You’ll follow the trail for about 2.5 miles, making four crossings of Big Creek, plus a few braid crossings. All should be relatively easy during normal flows.
A quarter mile from the fourth crossing is the Bee Branch crossing. The crossing is nondescript, but it doesn’t really matter if you miss it because you don’t want to cross, anyway. You want to follow Bee Branch upstream on the river-left side to Bee Branch Falls, then continue to the upper falls. From the trail crossing, you’ll be able to follow an old logging grade for a little bit before it becomes a Class I bushwhack to the lower falls.
It’s roughly 0.2 miles up to Bee Branch Falls. Continue following the creek about a quarter mile upstream, now on a Class III bushwhack, to the upper falls. The woods are nicely open for bushwhacking, but it’s very steep. Along the way you’ll pass a nice little cascade. If you’re hiking in late summer/early autumn, look out for the deep purple flowers of monkshood, a relatively rare plant that grows here.
From the trailhead at Blue Ridge Parkway. Big Creek Trail begins right at the south entrance of the tunnel. You’ll ascend gently and then descend. At 0.2 miles, the trail swings right, while an old road swings left. This road is the bypass road that was used while the tunnel was constructed. You hiked on part of it to get here.
Now the trail begins a steep descent down Little Pisgah Ridge. It follows the ridge closely, using lots of switchbacks, all the way down to the crossing of Bee Branch, about 0.2 miles below Bee Branch Falls. From Blue Ridge Parkway to the Bee Branch crossing is about 2.1 miles, with an elevation loss of about 1,900 feet.
You don’t won’t to follow the trail all the way down to the Bee Branch crossing, though. To reach Upper Bee Branch Falls, you need to cut off the trail and bushwhack directly to it. I don’t know the best spot from which to leave the trail for the upper falls, but the route I took was relatively easy as bushwhacks go.
The point I left the trail was 35.42014, -82.72334. It was at an elevation of about 3,500 feet. I climbed up and over a small ridge, then a larger one, then a smaller one. If you follow a direct route to the falls from this GPS point, you’ll hike through mostly open woods on a Class II bushwhack. The crow-fly distance is roughly 0.2 miles.
| Accessibility: | Forest road, trail, bushwhack |
| County: | Henderson |
| River Basin: | French Broad |
| Watercourse: | Bee Branch |
| Watershed: | Small |
| Type and Height: | Very steep, 100 feet high Height measured with rangefinder. |
| Landowner: | Pisgah NF, Pisgah RD |
| Beauty Rating: | 6 |
| Elevation: | 3400 feet |
| USGS Map: | Dunsmore Mountain |
| Hike Difficulty: | Difficult |
| Hike Distance: | Approx. 4.5 miles from PNF trailhead and 2 miles from BRP trailhead |
| Waterfall GPS: | 35.422486, -82.721415 |
| Trailhead GPS 1 & 2: | 35.42028, -82.65683 This is for the Pisgah National Forest trailhead. This is for the Blue Ridge Parkway trailhead. |
