Transylvania County - Land of Waterfalls...and the Hunger Games

I have to admit, I'm a little embarrassed by my lack of knowledge about the geography of the Southeast. Actually, make that most places outside of the Northeast and West Coast. It's terrible. I mean, I knew that there were beautiful places to explore in North Carolina but I guess I wasn't expecting the incredible beauty. And the mountains! I knew that Asheville was near the Appalachian Mountains but the Great Smoky Mountains too? No clue.

We poked around online to find some good hikes for Sunday and came across a few options. You know how sometimes you find what sounds like a great hike online, the description gushing about waterfalls and incredible vistas, but only to find a trickle of water when you actually get there? Well, not this time.

Yes, my hot pink Reebok RealFlex Transitions & Oakleys made the trip with me. Yes, I am obsessed with both of them.

We set off to do a loop of three waterfalls in DuPont State Forest - Triple Falls, High Falls and Hooker Falls. We should have known that we were in for a treat when we passed a sign welcoming us to Transylvania County and the land of waterfalls (over 200 waterfalls in the county!). It was a pretty easy hike but the falls were spectacular, cascading down 120-150 feet. Along the side of the falls, there were large, flat slabs of rocks - perfect for resting, picnicking or dipping your toes in the water. 

What struck me most about our hike was the number of families that were out together - hiking, walking dogs and swimming in the numerous swimming holes that dotted the area. I loved that and it made me realize that our family doesn't get out of NYC and explore the outdoors nearly as much as we should.

Apparently, this area is also a popular movie location. Triple Falls was featured in the movie Last of the Mohicans. But, most recently, three major scenes from the Hunger Games were shot in DuPont State Recreational Forest!

Remember the scene in which Katniss is tracking Peeta when he is injured and she finds him hidden along the river bank camouflaged? Peeta was hidden in the rock surface below Triple Falls. Sadly, the cave where they take shelter doesn't actually exists. Believe me, I was tempted to look for it. We didn't get to see the site of the two other scenes but Bridal Veil Falls is the location where Katniss jumps in a pool of water after being burned and scenes with active burning and fireballs were also filmed nearby. They cleared the area of underbrush and installed "trees" made of steel pipes and pumped with gas. 

After our hike and a quick lunch, we decided to drive back along the Blue Ridge Parkway. As we pulled up onto the Parkway, I think that our jaws dropped. The views were ah-mazing. It looked fake. Kind of like the set of a play where you have one layer of landscape behind another except that these were real blue-grey mountains. As we pulled up to the first vista point, we saw a sign telling us the name of the mountain in the distance. Oh, Cold Mountain. You know, the Mountain that was made famous by the novel by Charles Frazier and later the 2003 movie with Nicole Kidman, Jude Law and Renee Zellweger. Who knew that our little outing would turn into an impromptu movie set tour?

I'm really glad that we had the chance to explore the area a bit. We both left with a greater appreciation and curiosity about the area. As we left, we were already planning our next adventure to the Smokey Mountains. I also left wanting to expose my city kids to the outdoors more - more than just the big old park or the little old park but the woods and big trees and rocks and waterfalls and bugs. OK, maybe not the bugs.

Have you explored this area? Do you take your kids hiking? Are you as geographically challenged as I am? Did you watch the Hunger Games??