SUMMER HIKE TO ANNIVERSARY FALLS

In December 2015, My Faithful Hiking Companion and I celebrated a wedding anniversary by hiking the Bynum Bluff Trail down to the Linville River. We had no idea we were visiting this stunning waterfall. Not knowing its name we dubbed it "Anniversary Falls" On this June day in 2023, we serendipitously ended up hiking it again...what a great trail! Check out the earlier review at this link: https://fbwg-hiking.blogspot.com/2015/

Finding the trailhead is pretty easy. It is the second trailhead past the visitor cabin on the Kistler Highway on the western side of the Gorge. The sign is hard to see but when you pass the Pine Gap trailhead, the next parking lot is your destination.

The trail down to the river is relatively short. We measured it as 1.5 miles to the waterfall. As described in the earlier blog post, the trail starts along the ridge line above the Bynum Bluffs and follows the ridge until it circles around the bluffs. At this point, you have a trail spur that continues straight but the Bynum Bluffs trail is to the right and begins a descent.

A couple short switchbacks take you to the base of the northern end of Bynum Bluffs. For the next half mile, the trail descends to the intersection of Pine Gap and Linville Gorge Trail.

Heavily wooded, the trail has a nice shade protecting us from the afternoon sun. In the winter there are interesting forest windows to the Gorge, but in the summer the foliage hides the views.

Mountain Laurel has begun to bloom and the sun occasionally poked through a hole in the foliage to spotlight the blossoms.

This portion of the trail is the steepest, but it soon empties into a large campsite. This campsite is a little less than a mile from the trailhead. It is just above the intersection of the Pine Gap/Linville Gorge Trail.

The trail crosses the Linville Gorge Trail and continues downhill. Not far from here are a few spur trails that give some nice teaser views of the river. Never forsake a spur trial as it is there for a reason. One took us to a nice cliff overlook.

The roar of the river and the falls begin to resound off the walls of Bullface Mountain. This part of the trail is less steep and is very enjoyable. It made the FBWG smile!

The trail empties along a wide rocky beach that forms a bend in the river. Be sure to look up and enjoy the majesty of the rock wall cut into Bullface Mountain formed by the flow of the Linville River over a couple of million years.

There are many places to explore but if you are like us, the waterfall calls! We took the first trails to the right and soon were in the middle of a campsite overlooking the magnificent Anniversary Falls.

The falls stretch the width of the river and form three large cascades. Waterfalls have souls. When you get close to one you can feel it breath. This one roars with life.
We took some time to look downriver and could see all the way to the next bend as it winds downstream toward Babel Towers. Sitting in the sunshine and feeling the cool air coming off the river was so very peaceful, we did not want to leave!

This is a great trail. Tough but short climb out, but as far as river trails go this one has it all. Check out Anniversary Falls and feel the magic!

"I gave my heart to these mountains the minute I stood by this river with its spray in my face, and watched it thunder into foam, smooth to green glass over sunken rocks, shatter into foam again. I was fascinated by how it sped by and was always there; how its roar shook both the earth and me!" - Wallace Stegner