I hiked this somewhat nebulous trail on Monday, May 6th, 2024 with my fiancee on the way back from a concert in Greenville, South Carolina. It is located off the gravel section of NC 197, near the Ogle Branch tributary. Coming from the west (Barnardsville), head east from the Barnardsville Post Office, taking NC 197 North for 6.7 miles. After 4.7 of these miles, the road transitions to gravel, but only for 0.4 miles. The pavement makes an appearance for about 300 feet, while the remaining mile-and-a-half is gravel. The gate will be on your right. Coming from the north (Burnsville), take NC 197 South for 18.1 miles; from this direction, the trail is located on your left about 2.3 miles after the road turns from paved to gravel. The trail starts at the gate located at the southernmost bend of a hairpin turn; from the west, this will be your second hairpin turn on the gravel portion, while it is your first from the north.

Let me preface this by saying this is one of the most bizarrely hard-to-research trails I've come across. The source of confusion is the discrepancy between maps and reality. While the trail is on AllTrails (under the name Straight Creek via Waterslide Trail), it deviates from several maps published by the Forest Service in several ways. Several maps show the starting point as being located about a half mile west of the actual gate. Others show the route diverging from the primary trail (as judged by width). Yet another map which shows the correct starting point and routing appears to show a trail intersection which was not found to exist in reality. Finally, the trail is not listed as a trail on the USFS guide, The Trails of the the Appalachian District, nor is it formally blazed.

Murkiness of the trail aside, I decided to hike this trail, since every map concurred it was definitely a part of the Pisgah National Forest. Coming in from the west, we did pass the first gate (click) shown on other maps, but decided not to investigate it further unless circumstances at the supposed location of the other gate necessitated it. We proceeded up the road and found the second gate without issue.

Though it had been drizzling, we decided not to "take a hike" (pun intended) and geared up for a quick walk. The weather, coupled with the fact it was around noon on a Monday, meant we had the trail to ourselves, besides some local wildlife. The first fifth of a mile wends along, gradually rising but generally following the mountain's natural contour. After that, however, the trail splits; the more established trail (shown on the Transportation Systems map, as well as the route AllTrails follows) curves to the left, while the narrower trail (the route shown on the USFS Esri map and the AllTrails background) veers right. Note that both routes appear to be numbered 5552 as best as I can find.

After another half mile of walking, you'll come across a small waterfall. I haven't been able to determine a formal name of it, but assume it's what the AllTrails map calls the Waterslide, for reasons which will be clear by the later images of the falls. Traversing your way up the falls reveals a series of gradually more impressive water features.

Turning back around, we decided to quickly check out the other trail. We hiked a half mile to where the trail intersected Straight Creek, where some more waterworks could be found. Because of time constraints, however, we didn't explore any further. Which is just as well, because the heavens opened up once we returned to the car, allowing us to ride out the storm from a drier position.