Hickory Nut Falls
Encyclopedia
Hickory Nut Falls, also known as Hickorynut Falls, is a waterfall located at Chimney Rock State Park in Rutherford County
, North Carolina
.
, a park that was privately owned until May 2007, when the State of North Carolina completed the purchase of the park. Chimney Rock Park and the Hickory Nut Gorge are being developed into a state park.
Prior to 2007, the park and the falls was owned by the Morse family, and was widely known to Southerners for over 100 years. National attention came to the park and the falls when it was featured in the 1992 film The Last of the Mohicans
. The park was heavily featured at the end, and the final fight scene between Chingachgook and Magua was filmed at the brink of the falls.
for free. To view the falls more closely, visitors must pay an admission fee ($14 for adults, $6 for children as of 2007) at the park gate. After admission, visitors may hike either the moderate-difficulty 1.5-mile round-trip Hickory Nut Falls Trail to the base of the falls or the considerably longer Skyline-Cliff Trail to the top of the falls.
Rutherford County, North Carolina
-Demographics:As of the census of 2000, there were 62,899 people, 25,191 households, and 17,935 families residing in the county. The population density was 112 people per square mile . There were 29,535 housing units at an average density of 52 per square mile...
, North Carolina
North Carolina
North Carolina is a state located in the southeastern United States. The state borders South Carolina and Georgia to the south, Tennessee to the west and Virginia to the north. North Carolina contains 100 counties. Its capital is Raleigh, and its largest city is Charlotte...
.
History
Hickory Nut Falls flows on Fall Creek through the Hickory Nut Gorge, and is part of Chimney Rock ParkChimney Rock Park
Chimney Rock State Park is a North Carolina state park in Chimney Rock, Rutherford County, North Carolina in the United States. The park is located southeast of Asheville, North Carolina, and is owned by the state of North Carolina....
, a park that was privately owned until May 2007, when the State of North Carolina completed the purchase of the park. Chimney Rock Park and the Hickory Nut Gorge are being developed into a state park.
Prior to 2007, the park and the falls was owned by the Morse family, and was widely known to Southerners for over 100 years. National attention came to the park and the falls when it was featured in the 1992 film The Last of the Mohicans
The Last of the Mohicans (1992 film)
The Last of the Mohicans is a 1992 historical epic film set in 1757 during the French and Indian War and produced by Morgan Creek Pictures. It was directed by Michael Mann and based on James Fenimore Cooper's novel of the same name, although it owes more to George B. Seitz's 1936 film adaptation...
. The park was heavily featured at the end, and the final fight scene between Chingachgook and Magua was filmed at the brink of the falls.
Visiting the Falls
Visitors to the falls may view it from U. S. Highway 64U.S. Route 64
U.S. Route 64 is an east–west United States highway that runs for 2,326 miles from eastern North Carolina to just southwest of the Four Corners in northeast Arizona. The western terminus is at U.S. Route 160 in Teec Nos Pos, Arizona. The highway's eastern terminus is at NC 12 and U.S. Route...
for free. To view the falls more closely, visitors must pay an admission fee ($14 for adults, $6 for children as of 2007) at the park gate. After admission, visitors may hike either the moderate-difficulty 1.5-mile round-trip Hickory Nut Falls Trail to the base of the falls or the considerably longer Skyline-Cliff Trail to the top of the falls.
Nearby Falls
There are several falls above the main drop of Hickory Nut Falls. Other falls in the area include:- Rainbow Falls (Rutherford County)Rainbow Falls (Rutherford County)Rainbow Falls is a waterfall located in Chimney Rock, Rutherford County, North Carolina.-History:Rainbow Falls was owned privately until it was purchased by The Nature Conservancy in 2003...
- Camp Minnehaha Falls - a cascade on Grassy Creek that has a winter roadside view. To see the falls, from the Intersection of US 74A and NC 9, go .8 miles north. Parks in the pullout on the left just before the guardrail.
- The Cascades - a waterfall on Grassy Creek upstream from Camp Minnehaha Falls that is on private property
- Pool Creek Falls - a slide waterfall in an area currently restricted to public access, but that will be part of the new State Park
- Wolf Creek Falls - another waterfall in the same restricted area