April 24th, 2008 -  If you are looking for a wonderful family hike with some beautiful scenery, this has to be one of the best in the east Tennessee area.  It has two of the most grand waterfalls in our region with Elk Falls and Jones Falls, while much of the trail also follows the beautiful Elk River.  You will also spend a couple of miles on a nice section of the Appalachian Trail...  all within a moderate ~3.5 mile round trip.   

All of the Fullers came out for this one, and we had a great time.  We began at the ~50' Elk Falls (also see here for past photos), which is easily accessible from the road.  We then continued along a somewhat overgrown trail until we reached the A.T.  (see detailed hiking directions below as it can be tough finding the A.T. from Elk Falls).  From there we went south on the trail and soon made our way up to the 100' Jones Falls.   We stopped for a break, and then climbed on up to the second tier, and spent some time taking photos.                 

Tay, Cam, and Shannon Taking a Break After Climbing Up from Elk River to the A.T.

Jones Falls is a high elevation waterfall, so it's flow is very dependant on rainy weather. It has been a little dry for a couple of weeks so it wasn't flowing all that great, but it was very nice nevertheless (See here for more Jones Falls photos with higher water flow).

After leaving Jones Falls, we made our way back to Elk Falls by returning on the A.T. and then taking the forest road.   We stopped again to view this magnificent waterfall before driving home.  Unlike Jones Falls, the flow of Elk Falls was great.  Shannon and Taylor stayed on the top ledge, while Campbell and I climbed down to the plunge pool to take their photo.   

Again, this is a good family hike that can be done in only 2-3 hours.  For best viewing of Jones Falls, go soon after a decent rain, and read the hiking direction below so you won't lose the trail.      

Total Miles Hiked:  3.6 

Getting There:  

Driving - From Elizabethton, take 19E east and continue on through the town of Roan Mountain and into North Carolina.  Just before getting into the community of Elk Park, turn left onto Old Mill Road (there's a black sign there for Elk Falls, but it's hard to read).  Go about .25 mile on Old Mill Road, and then take a left onto Elk River Road.  Follow it for four miles into the Pisgah National Forest, to a parking at the end of the road.      

Trails - Begin on the yellow-blazed trail from the parking area.  This is a very short and highly traveled trail, which is approximately .2 mile to Elk Falls.  After the falls, you have two options in order to continue on to find the Appalachian Trail (and eventually Jones Falls)...

You can return to the parking area and set out on the gated forest road, or you can do as we did, and follow the unmarked, slightly-overgrown trail directly downstream from Elk Falls.  This trail is overgrown and not maintained, but it is defined well enough that you should be able to stay on it as it follows Elk River heading downstream.  After .5 mile or so, you will run into the forest road (which is now where you'd be if you simply took the forest road from the parking area).  Turn right on this road and follow it until it meets (fords) Elk River.  At this junction, you will see a grassy field on your left with faint or no signs of a trail.  Walk ~100 yards through this grassy field, still following the river.  At the end of the field, walk toward the bank of the river, and you should be able to see the trail continue directly alongside the river bank.  We had to cross over some limbs and brush here.  The trail then continues along the bank for a few more hundred yards until the river takes a strong turn to the right.  At this point the trail will leave the river and head into the forest to the left.  Almost immediately you will make any easy ford across Jones Branch, and then you will make a steep climb for for another couple hundred yard up to the junction of the Appalachian Trail (there's a big rock right in the middle of the trail at the junction).  Turn left here on the A.T. and follow it for about ~3/4 mile until you reach a blue-blazed trail on the left.  Follow this blue-blaze for ~.2 mile to Jones Falls.  My GPS mileage for the entire trek from the parking area to Jones Falls was 1.75 miles.

Download my GPS Track for Elk Falls to Jones Falls via the unmarked trail, and the waypoints for Elk Falls, Jones Falls, and the A.T. Junction here (.gpx format...  Right click on link and chose "Save Target As").