Wintergreen Falls in Dupont Forest

I have made quite a few trips to Dupont State Forest to hike and see the wonderful waterfalls there. The 4 waterfalls of the Little River are the prime attraction here, and it is really hard for me to drive several hours and NOT visit them. However, there are more waterfalls to be found in Dupont. 2 of them can be found on a tributary stream named Grassy Creek. One is fairly close to High Falls on the Little River, Grassy Creek Falls. It can be accessed from the High Falls parking area. The other waterfall is on the other side of Dupont, the 20 foot Wintergreen Falls. I am not sure why I chose to see this one today. It is after all, just a 20 foot waterfall on a creek while the others are large waterfalls on a river. I guess I just got tired of having only visited 5 of the 6 waterfalls in Dupont. It was time to fill the void. I feel silly for waiting now as this was a beautiful waterfall and the hike to it was very pleasant. The large crowds the river waterfalls attract were not here.

This one requires parking somewhere besides the popular Hooker Falls or High Falls parking areas. You could hike to Wintergreen Falls from these lots, but you would certainly need a Dupont map and a great deal more time to walk the extra miles. The shortest way is to hike there from the Guion Farm parking area. To get here, turn onto Dupont/Staton Road from Crab Creek Rd. In 3/4 of a mile, look for Sky Valley Road. Turn left and follow this paved road, it will turn to gravel soon and look for the Guion Farm parking area on the right. It is a large parking area designed to accommodate horse trailers. Find your way to the large info board on the left side of the parking lot. There is a large open field behind it. The hike begins here.

Begin walking down this field, making your way towards the right side as you go. At the end of the field, a short connector trail leads you to the Tarkiln Branch Road. Make a right turn on this road/trail. It is wide and a fairly easy walk through a tall pine forest. These pine forests are especially nice in winter because they offer some color, while most forest trails are absent of leaves, and color. The hike was a combination of deep forest green, and a bright blue sky. It was very nice. In about a mile or so, the Tarkiln Branch Road meets up with the Wintergreen Falls Trail. It will turn left and head slightly down hill.

These are few of the views along the hike. Note that horses will be using these trails often, so don’t be surprised by a fresh horse patty here or there. The walk on the Wintergreen Falls Trail is 1/2 mile. It will dead end at Grassy Creek just downstream from Wintergreen Falls. A narrow trail leads from here upstream and there are a few rocks that will have to be maneuvered around and over to see the waterfall. This is the only part of the hike that is not easy, but it is not too difficult. Once around the rocks, the waterfall, only 20 feet is beautiful, with a deep blue sky today, lots of green on both sides, and some rocks in the steam that really add character. It was way too bright to photograph this one like I wanted to, but I took some shots, focusing on the entire scene, including the bright blue sky. All in all, this was about a 3 mile hike , 1.5 miles out and back. I really enjoyed this one, and now am not certain why I waited so long to see it. Here are a few pictures heading home and a short video of Wintergreen Falls.