South River Falls Trail
South River Falls Trail
South River Falls Trail
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Most Recent: Reviews ordered by most recent publish date in descending order.
Detailed Reviews: Reviews ordered by recency and descriptiveness of user-identified themes such as wait time, length of visit, general tips, and location information.
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4.0
41 reviews
Excellent
19
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10
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11
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1
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0
Shawn H
Washington DC, DC413 contributions
Nov 2021
This trail loop is incredible on the way down, but be prepared for the nearly 1,000 foot hike back up to the car. On the way down, you soon come alongside a beautiful, rocky stream, the perfect place for meditation and the hearing of water gurgling. As you walk down alongside the stream, after about 45 minutes or an hour you reach a couple of viewing spots to see the main attraction, the South River Falls, where you can see the water shoot out of a rock chute down a cliff front. While I was there, the viewing platform was a bit of a muddy mess, so I sat on the rock "railing" to see the falls. From here, you can extend the hike down to the bottom of the falls, but we didn't take that option. Instead, we went back up from there. You can either retrace your steps, or, like we did, take a loop using rough fire roads back up to the edge of the valley and around to the parking lot. The hike back up is uphill the whole way and we needed to stop to catch our breath several times. The whole route ended up taking more than 2 hours with breaks. Beautiful hike, worth the trip.
Written December 4, 2021
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
paxa
Washington DC, DC6,857 contributions
Apr 2021
This is a relatively short trail - only 2.6 miles out and back if just going to the observation point. It's downhill all the way out and uphill all the way back - with a couple of switchbacks - so be prepared for the real workout on return. Trail surface is rockier closer to the falls. Stream crossing is towards the end and pretty easy with multiple crossing points with no danger of getting your feet wet. Waterfall is not big, probably better if you continue to hike down to the base of it but that trail was not immediately obvious so we didn't bother. Overall a very worthwhile "moderate" difficulty level hike and scenic all the way.
Written April 16, 2021
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Kim S
Hatteras Island, NC159 contributions
Mar 2020 • Couples
The overlook is fine but you really have to take the trail to the base of the falls. It is gorgeous. I just wish you could see the pool in the middle of the falls without doing some rock climbing. The hike back up was a challenge but felt good.
Written March 11, 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
darlene p
Harrisburg, PA99 contributions
Oct 2021
Worth the hike to the falls. The hike bike was hard-up hill and long. We came back on the fire road which I think was a little easier than coming back up the way we went down. It may have been easier to park at the South RIver Overlook and start at the Fire Road to the just north of the overlook - rather than the South River Picnic Grounds. Make sure you keep going until to get to the bottom of the falls. We think some people didn’t know to keep going.
Written October 15, 2021
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Joy_lee21
Grand Rapids, Michigan161 contributions
Dec 2021 • Friends
Beautiful hike. Very steep hike back up. We took the fire trail to “save our knees.” On your hike down you stop to see an overlook of the waterfall. Then you continue down to the falls. At the base of the river you can turn around or there is a short walk to the right side of the river to get closer to the waterfall. A must do. Plan at least 2 hours for this hike
Written January 5, 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Nicole d
8 contributions
Aug 2019
Clearly marked, easy route through beautiful forest. The waterfalls offer several nice spots to sit on stones and relax or enjoy the sounds.
Written September 3, 2019
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Joy M
2 contributions
Jun 2020
Excellent hike, would def recommend. The waterfall is beautiful. But, be careful on the rocks there were numerous rattlesnake sightings.
Written July 6, 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Chris
Louisa, VA1 contribution
Jun 2020 • Family
Observation point was overgrown with trees and shrubs, could hardly even see the waterfall, hike was very scenic to the observation point, the trail back to the parking lot was not as scenic and a pretty good incline, would not recommend bringing small children
Written June 12, 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Brendan O
110 contributions
Jul 2019 • Family
The caveat in this review is that I had a 35 pound kid in a pack on my back.
The trail is a typical Shenandoah waterfall trail - pretty much all downhill to get there and all uphill on the way back.
The trail itself was very rocky. We did it the day after a rain, so it was wet and pretty slick. The falls overlook area doesn't afford a great view of the falls when the vegetation is leafed out. We continued onto the fire road downhill to get to the base of the falls. At the bottom of the fire road, the trail resumes for a narrow, rocky uphill to the base of the falls. This was somewhat tricky, as it was particularly wet, rocky and overgrown. It was a short trek from there to the base of the falls. There is a small, shallow pool ar the base of the falls and the falls themselves were impressive from that location. Much better than the observation point view.
We took the fire road back up. It was less rocky than the formal trail itself, but a relentless uphill without much visual stimulation.
A good, worthwhile hike to do for an interesting waterfall. The elevation gain and loss isn't that big of an issue, so much as rocky footing is the more difficult part.
The trail is a typical Shenandoah waterfall trail - pretty much all downhill to get there and all uphill on the way back.
The trail itself was very rocky. We did it the day after a rain, so it was wet and pretty slick. The falls overlook area doesn't afford a great view of the falls when the vegetation is leafed out. We continued onto the fire road downhill to get to the base of the falls. At the bottom of the fire road, the trail resumes for a narrow, rocky uphill to the base of the falls. This was somewhat tricky, as it was particularly wet, rocky and overgrown. It was a short trek from there to the base of the falls. There is a small, shallow pool ar the base of the falls and the falls themselves were impressive from that location. Much better than the observation point view.
We took the fire road back up. It was less rocky than the formal trail itself, but a relentless uphill without much visual stimulation.
A good, worthwhile hike to do for an interesting waterfall. The elevation gain and loss isn't that big of an issue, so much as rocky footing is the more difficult part.
Written July 27, 2019
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
worktotravel14
Trenton, NJ2,310 contributions
Jul 2019 • Friends
This is one of my favorite trails. It is not too intense with glimpses of light and plenty of shade on a hot summer day. The falls are perfect and you walk along their cascade. We went in a direction opposite of most people (it seemed), hitting the falls and then walking along the cascade to the bottom of dark hollow. I highly recommend you take the spur to dark hollow. It is a steep .2 mile climb, but you don't hike with most of the crowds and it really is stunning. The 4.4 mile hike, took us a little more than 2 hours, with three deceny fit folks. There are picturesque bridges and cascades so you will be sure to have plenty of good memories. Prepare for some muddiness.
Written July 6, 2019
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
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Claim your listingSouth River Falls Trail - All You Need to Know BEFORE You Go (2024)
Frequently Asked Questions about South River Falls Trail
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