Adventures of a swimming hole aficionado

At the end of last year, I thought I was scraping the bottom of the barrel for new swimming hole prospects in the Wilson Creek area, but in skimming through Kevin Adams’ North Carolina Waterfalls book, I saw that he mentioned there were numerous cascades and one high waterfall on Little Wilson Creek, a tributary of Wilson Creek proper. I had seen what looked like a potential sliding waterfall on Little Wilson Creek with potholes in it on Google Earth, so I was tempted to check it out and see if any of the potholes were big enough to be legit swimming holes. In his book, Kevin Adams references another book that sounded useful: The Linville Gorge and Wilson Creek Hikers Guide: An Introduction by Allen T. Hyde. Hyde's book was out of stock when I went to order it online, but I saw that it was available from a number of local retailers, including the Great Outdoor Provision of Raleigh. I was able to find a copy there, and it did have a section on Little Wilson Creek. Hyde describes the section of the creek between Edgemont Road and 221 as having “many small waterfalls, water slides, and bathtubs”. I wasn’t expecting anything remarkable based on the limited pictures and videos I was able to find online, but the prospect of "water slides and bathtubs" was enough to make it worth a look. Since my expectations were low, I decided this might be a good excursion for a cool, dry spring day, since I wouldn’t want to waste a warm summer day on a failed swimming hole hunt. However, this past weekend was the first nice weekend of spring in the mountains, and temperatures were in the low 80’s, which is unseasonably warm. I was able to get up to Boone yesterday, and although for all intents and purposes it was a nice summer day, I still decided to stick with my plan to explore Little Wilson.

( Click here for the full trip report with pictures and videos )

In summary, Little Wilson is a nice, pristine stream, but nothing terribly interesting from a swimming hole or waterfall standpoint. It’s a shame, too, because that water was crystal clear. The large slide was pretty cool, and I’ll bet it would be impressive after a heavy rain if rushing water covered the whole rock face. While the big slide had a few potholes that were large enough for soaking, there were no real swimming holes there, but I would say that area of the creek is worth checking out if you happen to be passing by since it’s right off the road (if you manage to follow the correct trail). It would also make a great spot to sunbathe for those who just want to lie out on the rocks in a scenic location and don't necessarily care about swimming opportunities. Creek-walking upstream from the bridge is probably not worth doing if your time is valuable, as the most interesting cascades are visible from the road, and there are plenty of other impressive waterfalls elsewhere in the area.