Laurel Run Falls is a pretty waterfall with a short scenic hike. The movie The River was filmed in Laurel Run Park. There are three waterfalls that can be accessed off the Laurel Run Falls trail.
The main falls has a 1.8 mile hike round trip to get to Laurel Run Falls. Once at the park, take the entrance road straight till it splits. You will bear right and park at the amphitheater. The trail follows an old logging road across a bridge. You’ll immediately come to another bridge – if there’s lots of water – that’s a good sign that the waterfall will have good water flow. The bad thing is that if there’s lots of water, then there will be lots of mud on the trail and the creek crossing will be a little more challenging. I would recommend old shoes since the old road tends to be pretty muddy if there was recent rains.
The trail offers a beautiful view of the creek, which runs alongside it almost the entire way. Keep following this and you’ll eventually come to a creek crossing. This time there isn’t a bridge! Crossing the creek here can be kinda tricky. There was high water flow the day we went and you could either cross the creek by wading across or walk across a log that had fallen across the creek (I wouldn’t recommend crossing on the log unless you have good balance, as a few people we saw ended up in the water anyway). We opted to wade across, and the water came up just above our knees.
After crossing the creek, keep going just a little bit further and you’ll come to Laurel Run Falls, on your right.
If you continue on the trail after Laurel Run Falls, you will also see a second unnamed (at least I couldn’t find a name for this waterfall) waterfall less than a tenth of a mile ahead.
If you continue on the trail, you will come to a switchback where you will see Kiner Creek right in front of you. Cross the creek here and continue on by following the creek. The dense rhododendron underbrush has been partially cleared for what looks like a rough trail along the bank. Follow it up to Kiner Creek Falls. This leg of the hike is short, maybe 0.25 miles or less.
Many people classify this waterfall as easy, however I would classify it as a moderate during the wet season given having to wade across the creek and the muddy trail conditions. We used walking sticks, and they were very helpful in navigating this muddy trail.
Very pretty waterfall. I hope to one day try this one.
Thank you for the detailed information. So many times people skimp on the details and you aren’t prepared for the trail conditions itself. This one sounds like one to try. I like the fact that you can see three different waterfalls from the same trail.
Very cool. This isn’t very far from me. I’d love to visit the place that they filmed The River. It’s kinda like being a part of the movie. Really awesome!