Hiking Features
At South Mountains State Park, the main outdoor feature to visit is the High Shoals Waterfall that reaches 80 ft high, and drops down into the Jacobs Fork River.
We loved this park. We found South Mountain State Park to be extremely family friendly with more than just hiking and backpacking trails. Along with hiking trails, accessible from the same location, we were also extremely impressed with the drive-to-campsites, trout fishing, available mountain biking trails, and facilities all located in the same parking lot.
In terms of hiking, there are plenty of trails ranging in difficulty from easy to moderate, great for toddlers and older children.
Map: State Park Map , printouts were availale in the parking lot
Parking Lot and GPS: Jacob Fork Access / 35.596443 -81.6002911
The Hemlock Nature Trail
Trail Length: 0.3 miles one-way
Trail Type: one-way
Trail Difficulty: easy
Trail Blaze: white
Trail Head: Jacob Fork Parking Lot
Super fun trail for small toddlers, it starts at Jacob Fork Parking lot just past the picnic tables. This trail follows along the Jacobs Fork River, and has information displays along the trail. I would suggest walking this trail even if you don’t have children or toddlers to not miss the opportunity to enjoy the Eastern Hemlock trees that outline the river. The Eastern Hemlocks are quickly becoming obsolet due to the Hemlock Wooly Adelgid. In case you are interested, on a great read on the Hemlock Conservation efforts, take a look at Hemlock Restoration Intiative.
High Shoals Trail Loop
Trail Length: 2.7 miles
Trail Type: loop
Trail Difficulty: strenuous
Trail Blaze: blue
Trail Head: Jacob Fork Parking Lot
Dang, this trail did get a little tough, but definitely worth it. Take your backpack carrier with you if you have toddlers because you will need it to make it up to the waterfall and back down the other side.
The hike starts at the Jacob Fork Parking lot, then you will follow the main trail head and follow the fork to the left where the trail snakes along the river. It is really beautiful here with the color of the river being a light blue, and the boulders that snake along the river. As the waterfall comes into sight, you will run into a bridge and stairs. Take a moment to enjoy the waterfall from the bridge before proceeding up the steps because its steep and there are alot of them!
Stop at the second bridge close to the top of the waterfall to get really close. Then continue a few more steps up to the top of the waterfall where it is flat and is a great spot for a lunch break at the picnic tables while enjoying the sounds of the the waterfall. Please keep an eye on children as you are picnicing by the waterfall, there are warning signs and boundaries as well.
Once you’re ready, follow the trail on the white blaze to begin looping back down. This is also a great place for toddlers/kids to walk because it is relatively flat, and has alot of space to run around.
When you hit the fork, follow the blue blaze to begin your journey down back down. At this point on the trail, we put our daughter back in the carrier because it was a little steep. As you wind your way down, you will return back to the begining of the loop.
Chestnut Knob Trail
Trail Length: 2.1 miles one-way / 4.2 round trip
Trail Type: one-way
Trail Difficulty: strenuous
Trail Blaze: blue
Trail Head: Jacob Fork Parking Lot
We like to hike at least 5 miles on an outting. So as soon as we finished High Shoals Trail we headed up Chestnut Knob Trail to the lookout. There are two views on this trail. 1.2 miles up you can pause to see High Shoals Falls from a distance, then continue up to the Overlook at the end of the trail. This trail is a little difficult for little toddlers because it is a little narrow, and does have a consistent incline up. Hence, we did keep our toddler in the carrier while on this section. We would also recommend having good hiking shoes. In the fall the fallen dried leaves made the trail a bit slippery in a few spots. Also, there were not great stopping points on the trail except at each of the scenic views. Despite all of this, we would recommend this trail if you can make the time. We really enjoyed the view of High Shoals Falls and felt our daughter appreciated it more after seeing the falls first.
That’s all we have to offer on South Mountains State Park! We hope you’ll come back for more hiking information!