Location: Caesars Head State Park
State: South Carolina
Length: 8.5 miles
Trail Type: Out and back
Season: Year-round, best in spring and autumn
A side view of the Raven Cliff Falls in South Carolina
Trail Information:
Raven Cliff Falls Trail (numbered 11, blazed red) heads across the high escarpment. It is relatively level, just gently undulating, for the first 1.5 miles or so, with good views over the Blue Ridge.
Pass the Gum Gap Trail turn-off on the right and the trail descends about 530 ft (a bit more steeply toward the end of it, and moves on to an observation deck,a little over two miles from the trailhead.
Across the gorge is 420-ft Raven Cliff Falls, a well-known landmark in the area. Surrounding the rocky gorge are rhododendron and azalea, chestnut oak and hickory forests, giving a wonderful display of color in late spring and autumn.
Backtrack about half a mile and turn left onto Gum Gap Trail (number 13, ). Follow this easy trail for about 1.7 miles until you reach a junction. Continue on Naturaland Trust Trail (number 14, blazed pink), which descends about 370 ft in 0.3 mile to a swing-bridge over Matthews Creek and above Raven Cliff Falls. The beautiful view it offers marks the turning-round point of the hike.
If you want to avoid re-tracing your steps, the inter-connecting trails in the Mountain Bridge area make it possible to form a loop back.
You can continue on Naturaland Trust Trail for another mile or so, then turn left to climb the Dismal Trail (number 12, blazed purple) to rejoin Raven Creek Falls Trail not far from the overlook (but fortunately avoiding the steepest part of that trail).
These trails are a lot more strenuous: Naturaland Trust descends another 900 ft from the swing-bridge and, in the course of its 1.5 miles, the Dismal Trail climbs 1,160 ft.
Directions:
Caesars Head is on US 276, 30 miles north-west of Greenville and 8 miles off the Cherokee Foothills Scenic Highway 11.
Popularity: 2% [?]
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