A short hike along a well maintained trail takes you to the beautiful 60′ Toms Creek Falls.
In the North Carolina town of Marion in the Northern Pisgah National Forest, is an easy short hike to Toms Creek Falls along a well maintained trail that has little elevation change. It is a perfect hike for families with young children or the elderly. Even a stroller could easily be pushed along the trail to the observation platform. There are also benches along the trail that are perfect for those who need to take a break or want to enjoy the sound of Toms Creek in the distance. The final destination is the picturesque 60′ Toms Creek Falls.
The trailhead to Toms Creek Falls is located along Huskins Branch Road just off highway 221 in Marion North Carolina. Huskins Branch Road is initially paved but becomes a gravel road for a few hundred feet only to become paved again. Shortly after the pavement resumes, the gravel parking lot for the trailhead will be on your right. Look for the signboard immediately to the right of the trailhead. Toms Creek Falls is only about 50 minutes from Asheville, North Carolina or about 1 hour 45 minutes from Charlotte North Carolina or Greenville South Carolina.
This out and back hike is only 8/10ths of a mile and starts to the left of the signboard on the right side of the parking lot. Initially the trail is relatively flat and is easily followed as it mostly follows Toms Creek. The only creek crossing is bridged so you don’t have to worry about getting wet. Shortly after the bridge, the trail will ascend up a hill via a few switchbacks. After the switchbacks the observation deck for the falls is only a short distance ahead.
The views from the observation deck are good as it provides a slightly elevated platform for observing the waterfall. There is a small path to the right just before the observation deck that leads to an old campsite that provides an even better view of the waterfall. It also provides access to the base of the falls which is a popular spot for wading during the warm summer months. Regardless of where you view Toms Creek Falls, you will enjoy this hidden beauty of the Pisgah National Forest.
If you walk from the campsite to the bank of the river and continue across, you can find an old flooded out mica mine. Walk downstream a few feet look for the large cutout on the right. Walk up the cutout a short distance and you will find the entrance to mine. While it is neat to see the mine, it is definitely not safe to enter. So observe it safely from a distance.
When you are done enjoying Toms Creek Falls, hike safely back to the parking lot.
The text and the vocal refers to the dirt section of Huskins Branch Road. This dirt section has been paved recently Spring 2021.
I should also point out that their are trails above the waterfall that one can access quite easily by going up to the right of the waterfall. Not far past the main waterfall, is a much shorter but quite pretty waterfall.
This is great! I travel with two little Corgis, one of which is over 10 now, so I’m always looking for wide, easy trails. Digging through photos and comments takes time, but this video was fast and easy to see what I needed to see. Thank you!
Hi. I’m interested in camping at Tom’s Creek this Summer. Info please & thank you.
George, we don’t own or manage any of the locations featured on our website. Tom’s Creek is park of the Pisgah National Forest so you would have to contact someone from there to get info on camping.
This trail was great. I was traveling with my daughter her husband and their two kids under 2. This trail allowed us to use the stroller to get to the waterfall. We did have to leave the stroller behind to get closer to the falls but if you did not want to do that you could still get a great view of the falls from an observation platform. It was a fun, easy, and lovely walk plus a beautiful waterfall.
Hi Kathy! Were there stairs or needed to go uphill on this trail at all?
There are no stairs. The trail is wide and well groomed–not paved but packed dirt/gravel. It starts off level, then there is a section that goes uphill with two switchbacks–basically an uphill S, and then it levels off again with a mild uphill slope. At the base of the falls there is a really nice observation platform, but no bench.
I’m over 50 and not in great shape. This is one of my go-to falls to take visitors since it is close to home and fairly easy to get to.
Is fishing allowed on the creek and I’ve seen previous campfire remains on the trail in, is this allowed?
I am not sure about fishing being allowed or not. This is part of the Pisgah National Forest so you would have to check the regulations for this area of the forest or contact the ranger station for help.