Gorges State Park
Gorges State Park is the fifteenth park in our 2025 North Carolina State Park Challenge. It is located in Sapphire, NC in Western NC near the Great Smoky Mountains. Its most popular attraction is Rainbow Falls, a large 150 foot tall waterfall near the end of a 1.5 mile trail. This truly was a huge waterfall, there was a refreshing mist coming off the falls as you hiked down to the bottom. Many people were swimming in the ice cold water coming off the falls, but it took a little rock climbing to get to the water. We stopped and watched some people swim and dipped our feet in before headed on to the next waterfall at the end of the trail- Turtleback Falls. This waterfall had a more shallow area in front- perfectly Axel’s depth to cool off. We watched a couple people slide off the top of the rocks in to the pool before and ate our lunch before heading back to the trail. We made one pitstop off the trail to cool off in the river and swim around in our own space before making majority of the hike back. IT RAINED THE ENTIRE TIME. I will say it was quite refreshing and was a great way to stay cool while hiking uphill, but it wasn’t just a little sprinkle- every time I thought it couldn’t get heavier it did. We made it back to our car right as the rain was letting up.
Here is what I will say about this trail: it is rated strenuous for a reason. On the way down I saw a lot of people struggling on this trail. It is a shorter trail but has a lot of steps near the falls. One woman had fallen right by the stairs at the end of the trail- EMS and park rangers were helping her out, but they had to bring a stretcher to carry her out to a point where a vehicle could get to her. The rock are also extremely slippery and the falls are rough right at the bottom. Bottom line: don’t come here if you can’t respect nature and can hike a trail rated as strenuous
We finished up our hike, grabbed our passport stamp and patch from the visitor center then checked in for our campsite. Check in is at the visitor center starting at 3pm. I set up camp while Axel had some much need relaxation time and ate. The town of Brevard is about 30 minutes away if you do need any food, gas etc. And there was a cute looking Mexican restaurant and ice cream shop about five minutes outside the park’s gates as well.
Before bed we stopped by the observation platform that is not far from the campgrounds. While most of the park is dense wooded trails, it offers some great mountain views. We decided to go back for sunrise- and it did not disappoint. Get there a little before sunrise and watch the colors fill the mountains below.
This park is a great place to got in the heat of the summer when you need to be in/near water to cool off, but the waterfalls were not as accessible as I was hoping. A lot of accounts show how great the waterfalls are and how cool it looks to swim under a 150 ft waterfall, but not that you have to pretty much rock climb to get to that point. We really enjoyed this park but the little things like hoping in the water on our hike back and getting up early to watch the sunrise made our experience so great!
Park Details:
ADDRESS: 976 Grassy Ridge Road, Sapphire NC 28774
HOURS: December-February: 7am-7pm
March-April & October-November: 7am-9pm
May-September: 7am-10pm
VISITOR CENTER: Open Daily 9am-5pm
PASSPORT STAMP: At the Visitor Center
ENTRANCE FEE: No Entrance Fee
TRAILS: 56 miles of hiking trails
ACTIVITIES: Hiking, Biking, Horseback Riding, Fishing
DOG RULES: Dogs are not allowed in park building and must be on a leash no longer than 6 feet. Please pick up after your pet!
Check out our videos about this Park on instagram @axel.theadventurepup
