My boys and I set out to hike Graveyard Fields and Skinny Dip Falls (since they were so close to each other).
We started at Graveyard Fields and hiked the beautiful lower falls and started to the upper falls after, but turns out its closed off temporarily, so we made a big loop that took 1.3 miles total to get back to our car.

2 miles back down the road coming back home, we met our next stop.  Skinny Dip Falls!  And fortunately, there were no skinny dippers there 🙂 …I had to explain to my kids this term.  However we did see a lot of people arriving in their swimsuits as we left.

Skinny Dip Falls was found after a short .45 mile hike from the Blue Ridge Parkway. The hard part was finding it. You locate this from Asheville by heading West on the Blue Ridge Parkway to mile post 417. There is the Looking Glass Rock overlook at that mile post. Cross the road to the Mountain to Sea Trail and you’re on your way!

The trail itself is rocky and has elevation changes, but its well marked. You reach the falls as you walk down manmade wooden steps that lead you to a bridge that crosses over a swimming hole.

The swimming hole is tree-covered. Remember the elevation here is much higher, therefore the temperature might be a little lower than home.

The falls themselves are 3 levels- there were 3 small falls with a pool of water at their base.  

Getting to each one was just a matter of climbing around the rocks on the right side of the water. There does come a point where you do need to plan to walk in the water to continue up. There are cairns everywhere!

So Plan ahead! Take your swimsuit and some snacks and spend some time there hanging in the water!

Feel free to add comments to your experience at these falls!