After resting up on Saturday, recovering from the short nights at Lake Keowee, I headed out Sunday morning to celebrate Father’s Day at Jones Gap State Park. It was a lovely morning for the drive, which took about an hour, with an extra 10-15 minutes for a detour around a closed section of River Falls road. I found a parking spot and made my way to the trailhead.
The first mile or so is hiked on Jones Gap Trail, which connects Jones Gap State Park with Caesar’s Head State Park to the west. This gently rising section travels right alongside the cascading Middle Saluda River, with plenty of spots to take in the water bounding over the rocky stream, which is always in earshot.
There are a few openings through the trees where you get a pretty nice view of the other side of the gap (I called them excuses to rest).
The trail narrows at several points on the upper half, and the boulders grow large. It may be hard to tell, but this photo is taken at a very steep upwards angle, probably just a few degrees from straight up.
I shot the above picture as a test shot, then put on my Big Stopper neutral density filter and took an exposure that was around 3.5 minutes long, during which the wind whipped up overhead and the upper falls nearly quadrupled in width (note the increased volume of the foreground cascade as well):
At this point, I realized I was no longer standing on rocks above the water, but actually standing in the water, on those same rocks. Since the water was rising rapidly, I grabbed my gear and headed across the river to the large rock on the left side of the frame.
The waterfall had increased to a loud roar, and the massive crash of water generated an increasingly heavy spray that was soaking me and my camera gear. But it was astounding, a truly amazing experience that this happened while I was actually there to witness it.
Remember that flat and dryish rock that I asked you to note earlier? I stopped to check it out on the way down, and it was completely underwater, with so much water flowing over it that it was crashing up in the air as it hit a ledge.
Rainbow Falls Trail at Jones Gap State Park is rated as a strenuous hike, and I understand why now. It’s a nice hike with a serious climb, but the stunning waterfall is definitely worth the effort, and I will definitely return. The trail is very pretty in spots and occasionally dotted with big boulders that have become part of the trail.
Overall, I spent four hours total, around 2.5 hours hiking and 1.5 taking pictures and resting. The total distance from the parking area was 6.6 miles and had 1,900 total feet of ascent.