This Land, Your Land

The annual Mother's Day weekend waterfall tour at DuPont State Recreational Forest is set for Saturday, May 12, and Sunday, May 13.

The 12-mile shuttle bus tour visits the forest's four most scenic sites: Triple Falls (below), High Falls, Bridal Veil Falls and Lake Julia. Visitors can get off and on buses at each stop. The tour takes three hours or longer, depending on how much time is spent at each stop.

"Tour de Falls is intended to provide families and those with limited hiking abilities a chance to see the beauty of DuPont Forest and some of the most spectacular waterfalls in the Southeast via shuttle buses," a news release says.

Buses will be available at the High Falls Access Area, 1300 Staton Road, Cedar Mountain (N35E11.356', W082E 37.425'), approximately every 40 minutes from 9 a.m. until 2:30 p.m. Saturday and Sunday.

The 10,400-acre forest straddles the Transylvania/Henderson county line.

Volunteers on the buses and at each stop will provide information about the area's history and efforts to protect the forest's historical and natural resources.

Light refreshments will be available in the lodge overlooking Lake Julia, the last stop on the tour. Otherwise, visitors should bring water and snacks; there are no food concessions. Triple Falls and High Falls have covered shelters with picnic tables.

A donation of $6 for ages 6 to 17 and $12 for ages 18 and older is requested.

Friends of DuPont Forest, a non-profit organization that works with the state Forest Service and Department of Agriculture to "enrich the recreational experience and preserve the natural resources" in the forest, sponsors the tour each spring.

The Friends initiated a fall version of the tour last September.

Click on the photo of Triple Falls for more information about DuPont State Recreational Forest.

"The Hunger Games," set to open Friday and expected be a huge hit worldwide, was filmed entirely in North Carolina, including in DuPont State Recreational Forest and on the Blue Ridge Parkway, The News & Observer explains in a front-page report today.

Scenes for the post-apocalyptic young adult drama were filmed at Triple Falls, below, and Bridal Veil Falls in the forest's High Falls Access area, and elsewhere among DuPont's more than 10,000 acres.

DuPont, which is on the Transylvania/Henderson county border between Hendersonville and Brevard, has more than 80 miles of roads and trails open to hikers, mountain bikers and equestrians. Forest officials expect visitation to grow significantly beyond the usual 188,000 visitors each year when "Hunger Games" tourists begin to join them, The N&O says.

A lake in the film is the North Fork Reservoir, which is not open to visitors but can be seen from a trail at Craggy Gardens on the Blue Ridge Parkway north of Asheville.

Fans should note that, while hiking trails remain available if the Parkway is not closed for inclement weather, the Craggy Gardens visitor center and other Parkway facilities are closed for the winter until next month. The Craggy Gardens visitor center opens on weekends in April and then on weekdays for the season beginning April 23. It will close for next winter on November 4.

DuPont State Forest is open year-round.

'The Hunger Games' uses Triple Falls in DuPont State Recreational Forest, below, as a backdrop for fight scenes, and additional parts of the forest as the wilderness that pivitol characters spend much of the film in. Click on the photo for more about DuPont State Forest.

Work to enhance safety at Dry Falls will close the Nantahala National Forest site's namesake trail and parking lot this spring and summer, the USDA Forest Service said today.

Dry Falls is a 75-foot roadside cascade on U.S. 64 in the Cullasaja Gorge between Cullasaja Falls and Bridal Veil Falls near Highlands. A wide, easy trail allows visitors to walk behind Dry Falls.

The $466,000 project will reconstruct and replace the entire walking path. The work will remove tripping hazards and protect water quality through drainage control measures, a news release says.

Nantahala District Ranger Mike Wilkins said this is the first major work on the Dry Falls trail in more than 30 years.

The construction project, which is funded by Federal Highways Grant of $208,000 and matching agency funds of $258,000, is to begin in early April and conclude by September.

The parking lot at Dry Falls was resurfaced in 2008, work that also required closing the site for several weeks during the season.

The Friends of DuPont State Forest have announced dates for a fall version of Tour de Falls, a 12-mile shuttle bus tour to four spectacular sites in DuPont State Recreational Forest.

Buses departing from the High Falls Access Area every 30 minutes will take visitors to Triple Falls, High Falls, Bridal Veil Falls and Lake Julia from 9 a.m. until 2:30 p.m. on September 24 and 25, a Saturday and Sunday.

The Tour de Falls has also been held in May.

The High Falls Access Area is at 1300 Staton Road, Cedar Mountain, N.C. (N35E11.356', W082E 37.425').

The tour takes three hours or longer, depending on how much time you spend at each stop, according to the Friends. There are no food concessions at the forest, so visitors need to bring food and water. Light refreshments will be available at the lodge overlooking Lake Julia, which is the last stop on the tour.

The tour is free but a donation of $6 for ages 6 to 17 and $12 for ages 18 and older is requested. There are no advance reservations.

Donations to the nonprofit Friends of DuPont Forest "are used to finance construction projects such as shelters and steps at the waterfalls, to maintain 90 miles of trails, and to support research and educational projects that protect historical and natural resources within DuPont State Recreational Forest," the group says.

Click on the photo of Triple Falls for more information about DuPont State Recreational Forest.