Up the Stairs to Mingo Falls
Sep. 16th, 2026 09:06 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
canyonwalkerNorth Carolina Travelog #27
Cherokee, NC · Tue, 25 Aug 2026. 4:30pm.
After visiting Soco Falls this afternoon we drove back up to the Blue Ridge Parkway and followed it west to its terminus at the edge of Great Smokey Mountain National Park and the town of Cherokee, NC. We drove a local road out of town to the base of Mingo Falls.
Parking at the trailhead late in the day was easy. But from there it was up, up, up.
As in, stairs pretty much all the way up.
You can't see them all in this photo, but there are 153 of them. The sign says 160, but I counted. It's an odd little tic I've had since childhood when I was learning numbers that I count things. (Adults would ask me at age 5, "What's your favorite number?" and I'd tell them 886,539. 😅 Then my dad taught me about millions and I added three digits. 🤣)
Counting is not the point of hiking, of course. It's just something I do to occupy my mind. Getting there, and enjoying the beauty all along the way, is the point.
The name Mingo Falls comes from a Cherokee word for mean. Their local lore tells of a mean ol' bear that lived in this area. They'd see it occasionally but when they hunted it (to protect the nearby village) it would disappear up the mountain.
After enjoying the view of the falls we clambered back down the stairs. My leg muscles are getting a bit weak at this point. This is our fifth hike/waterfalls today... and we've still got one more on our dance cards! Will we get there before dark? Stay tuned!
Cherokee, NC · Tue, 25 Aug 2026. 4:30pm.
After visiting Soco Falls this afternoon we drove back up to the Blue Ridge Parkway and followed it west to its terminus at the edge of Great Smokey Mountain National Park and the town of Cherokee, NC. We drove a local road out of town to the base of Mingo Falls.
Parking at the trailhead late in the day was easy. But from there it was up, up, up.
As in, stairs pretty much all the way up.
You can't see them all in this photo, but there are 153 of them. The sign says 160, but I counted. It's an odd little tic I've had since childhood when I was learning numbers that I count things. (Adults would ask me at age 5, "What's your favorite number?" and I'd tell them 886,539. 😅 Then my dad taught me about millions and I added three digits. 🤣)
Counting is not the point of hiking, of course. It's just something I do to occupy my mind. Getting there, and enjoying the beauty all along the way, is the point.
The name Mingo Falls comes from a Cherokee word for mean. Their local lore tells of a mean ol' bear that lived in this area. They'd see it occasionally but when they hunted it (to protect the nearby village) it would disappear up the mountain.
After enjoying the view of the falls we clambered back down the stairs. My leg muscles are getting a bit weak at this point. This is our fifth hike/waterfalls today... and we've still got one more on our dance cards! Will we get there before dark? Stay tuned!
