Hanging Rock State Park, NC 2010

Snow at Hanging Rock State Park NC
Snow on Trail Hanging Rock State Park, NC

Frozen waterfall Hidden Falls
Frozen Hidden Falls, Hanging Rock State Park

On January 12, 2010, we decided to get out of the house in spite of the cold, and visited Hanging Rock State Park. We wanted to see if the waterfalls were frozen due to the cold and if they had more water in them than when we visited in 2007. Hanging Rock State Park is the nearest place to go for mountain waterfalls from Durham.

As we were driving up we noticed that there was still quite a bit of snow around, especially on the higher hills. We wondered about the state of the parking lot and trails in the park. When we got to the park, the parking lot and trails were clear of snow. There were some piles in the parking lot at the visitor center left over from clearing the lot. And there were a few packed icey spots on the trail. The NC Department of Parks had done a great job.

Hidden Falls, Hanging Rock State Park

Hidden Falls is about a half a mile hike from the parking loat at the visitor center. The trail is well maintained.

It is not really hidden, it is just slightly off the main trail. It is a more of a series of small drops instead of a single long fall. The longest drop is about 10 feet.

Frozen waterfall Hidden Falls
Frozen Hidden Falls, Hanging Rock State Park
Frozen waterfall Hidden Falls
Frozen Hidden Falls, Hanging Rock State Park
Frozen waterfall Hidden Falls
Frozen Hidden Falls, Hanging Rock State Park

Window Falls

Window Falls
Window Falls, Hanging Rock State Park
Window Falls
Window Falls, Hanging Rock State Park
Window Falls
Window Falls, Hanging Rock State Park

Window Falls is about a quarter of a mile down the trail from Hidden Falls. This is a larger falls than Hidden Falls and is worth the hike. The trail was in good shape. There were a few slick spots for packed snow and ice that required care. Access to areas of the falls off the trail was snow covered and too slick for us to try on this visit. This was especially true of the view of the falls through the window. It was much too dangerous to try to get to the window viewpoint.

There is another set of falls at the park, Cascade Falls, that we did not get to. We'll get to them next time.