Laurel Falls

The hike to Laurel Falls is an easy one on a paved trail.  It is 1.3 miles up and 1.3 miles down.  We have hiked this trail a couple of times before.

It is in the forest, surrounded by trees, meaning it is a shaded trail.  There is not much to see except the trees.  Once is a while is a view of the mountains.

The falls take a plunge of 80 feet, in two sections.  There is a pool at the bottom of the upper section.  This pool has a bridge across it.  The trail continues.  We chose not to do that today.  Then from that pool the water forms a lower section of the pool.

This is the pool formed at the bottom of the lower falls.  This was taken from the bridge separating the two sections.

This is the upper section of the falls.

I crossed the bridge and walked up the trail a ways so that I could get a picture of the lower falls.

From the paved trail, this time of year with the leaves still on the trees, there is no way to get a picture of the entire falls.

But, to get off the trail and go down toward the lower falls, a good picture can be taken.  Since there was a well-worn path down, it was obvious we were not the first to think of this.  I was concentrating on foot placement and making sure my camera did not crash into a rock or a tree.  Therefore, there are no pictures of the climb down or up.  It was a lot of work, but, oh so worth it.

This is the pool at the bottom of the lower section, up close and personal.

While a picture does not do it justice, this is the entire falls.