I hiked this trail on Thursday, June 10th, 2021 with my brother.

This trail was a waterfall loop in Panthertown that I arranged myself with the goal of hitting as many of the Panthertown waterfalls in a day as I could. I could have been more ambitious--at least one person has done all 20 in one day--however I prefer to enjoy my hikes.

This route was an amalgamation of multiple trails, mostly Greenland Creek Trail and Mac's Gap Trail. The total hike runs about 7.8 miles and hits eight waterfalls, all along the eastern section of Panthertown. I'd recomment hiking this with some sort of GPS assistance, as well as Burt Kornegay's map of Panthertown, which can be purchased through the Panthertown Map Association. Also, based on the location of the sun, if you start in the afternoon you may want to go in the opposite order as me.

To find this hike, start by turning off NC 281/US 64 (Rosman Highway) to stay on NC 281 (Blue Ridge Rd). Just a mile down NC 281, turn left onto Cold Mountain Road; don't let all the "private property" and "do not enter" signs at the entrance deter you -- there is indeed a hike back here. Follow the wending and winding Cold Mountain Road for 5.7 miles until you eventually reach some signage for Panthertown; turn left onto FS 4674 (called either Hogback Ln or Spencer Ln), and then right after a tenth of a mile onto FS 4674A (Hogback Spur A); make sure not to go straight on either of those last two turns, as this will take you into private property. Along FS 4674A you will find a gravel parking lot.

Start by walking back along FS 4674 a little bit until you see the trailhead for Mac's Gap Trail (482) along your right; follow this thick, fern-choked trail for 3/4 mile. You'll intersect with Greenland Creek Trail (488) twice, staying on Mac's Gap the first time, but switching onto Greenland Creek Trail the second--both of these meetings should feel like you're continuing straight. After about a mile of total hiking, you'll see your first falls, Greenland Creek Falls.

A half mile later, you'll encounter Halfway Falls; don't be fooled like me, though, and mistake Halfway Falls for what our insane 20-a-day-er from the beginning of the summary titled "False Halfway Falls" (the first picture).

About a quarter of a mile later, you'll hit Carlton Falls. It's tough to get a full picture of this waterfall--to really appreciate its size, I recommend either hiking up the falls a little ways or following the trail and looking for a second turnoff.

After this, you'll have a dry spell where you won't see any waterfalls. This is the first time where the trail got truly hard to follow, as there are a number of unnamed intersecting trails that seem to belong to the neighboring camp. After 3 miles of hiking, you'll come to the confluence of Greenland Creek, Mac's Gap, and Big Green Trail (487); continue straight onto Mac's Gap Trail. This puts you at 4.8 miles of trail on the day so far.

After 5 miles of hiking, you'll come across a short half-mile spur back towards the start of Mac's Gap Trail; if you're getting tired, this is an easy way to cut the hike short but still get two more quick falls in (Mac's Falls and Pothole Falls). Otherwise, just continue straight. At some point around this area, there's another small unnamed water feature that doesn't quite make waterfall status. At 5.4 miles in, you'll reach Little Green Trail (485); take that trail for just over half a mile til you reach the top of Little Green Mountain. A fun option at this area is to take a tucked-away detour to Tranquility Point. Admittedly, the views aren't terribly different from other looks you'll get on the exposed sides of Little Green Mountain, but it is a cool spot.

Return to Little Green Trail and start descending the mountain; at 6.5 total miles of hiking, you'll encounter an unnamed trail. At this area you'll also see Schoolhouse Falls. This impressive falls has a sizeable swimming area, as well as a great rocky bank that offers a spectacular number of skipping stones.

Another 3/4 of a mile later you'll run into both Pothole Falls and Macs Falls, the ones you could have reached from the shortcut earlier. Truthfully, I don't think I actually saw Pothole Falls, the picture below is what I thought was it. I did get a chance to see Mac's Falls, however we were getting drenched in a torrential downpour of rain and chose not to take a picture. This section of trail was also very, VERY difficult to follow--so much so that I'm pretty sure I was not on the right trail. Another half mile of hiking down Mac's Gap Trail and Panthertown Valley Trail will take you right back to your car.

For a map of the trail click here.

Browse through other pictures from the trail by clicking here.