Moore Cove Trail

Moore Cove Falls on the Moore Cove Trail was Waterfall #2 of our Asheville adventures! (The first waterfall was Looking Glass Falls.)

Distance: ~1.5 miles (round-trip)
Elevation: 160 feet
Trailhead Location: Located 1 mile north of Looking Glass Falls on U.S. 276, or 5 miles north of the Pisgah District Ranger Station/Visitor Center.
Difficulty: Easy
Parking: There is a parking area along US 276! There’s room for ~18 cars. (Park diagonally.)

You’ll approach a stone highway bridge with an adjoining wooden footbridge + a bulletin board with a “MOORE COVE” sign.

Side view of the stone highway bridge!

The Moore Cove Trail is a super short and easy out-and-back hike that leads to the Moore Cove Falls. Cross the stream using the footbridge and follow the yellow blazes (tree markings) to get to the waterfall!

(This is the bridge you need to cross to start the trail!)

(This is the stream you’ll be crossing!)

Don’t let the stairs fool you. The first 150 feet of the trail would be considered moderate, but it’s all easy-peasy from there–the total elevation for this trail was only something like 160 feet! Super manageable, and nothing like Mission Peak or Cathedral Rock! :P

Some areas on the trail might get a bit muddy from the rain, so wear appropriate footgear! The footbridges are sturdy, and you’ll use those to cross the creek 3 times.

Yellow poplars are the most common trees in the cove forest!

You can apparently often find a whole bunch of different wildflowers on the trail (e.g. Showy Orchids, Pink Lady’s Slipper, Jack-in-the-Pulpit, and Dwarf Irises), but we unfortunately didn’t see any aside from one plant with white flowers.

The trail ends at Moore Cove Falls, which drops 50 feet over a cave-like rock outcropping–you can walk behind it and have a picnic on the flat rocks there!

P.S. The trail doesn’t go beyond the falls, so please don’t attempt to hike to the top or to the area upstream of the falls, as that could lead to serious injury and also cause significant environmental damage! Also, the area within 1/4 mile of Moore Cove Falls is closed to the public from sunset to sunrise!

A video posted by Farrah @ fairyburger (@fairyburger) on May 23, 2016 at 6:15am PDT

• Have you ever hiked anywhere in western North Carolina?
• Where’s your favorite place to hike?

Check out my other Travel Tuesday posts!