Description: This is one of two falls you can reach by hiking the Winding Stairs Trail, the other being Secret Falls. Miuka Falls is a 75-foot waterfall tucked away on a spur trail off the popular Winding Stairs Trail makes the journey into Miuka Falls among the best in Oconee County. In fact, this easy, 45-minute hike bustles with birds, small animals, and lively wildflowers beneath a dense canopy of hardwoods. More gently graded than stepped (as the name implies), beginners can easily venture along this trail and experience Miuka Falls, although thick foliage at the falls makes getting a clear view a bit of a challenge.

Height: 75 feet

Length of hike: 1.15 miles

Time to hike: 45 minutes

Difficulty: Moderate

Creek or river: West Fork of Townes Creek

USGS Quadrangle: Tamassee

Directions to falls:

1. From Walhalla, drive northwest on SC 28 for 8.4 miles and bear right (north) onto SC 107.

2. Drive another 8.7 miles and park on the right just before the sign for the Cherry Hill Recreation Area.

3. Start your hike on the Winding Stairs Trail, which starts at the right (south) of two yellow posts. Do not pass between the posts or cross SC107.

4. At 0.2 mile the trail bears right, and a path from the Cherry Hill Recreation Area enters from the left.

5. From this junction hike south for 0.9 mile and bear left onto a spur trail to see Miuka Falls.

6. Hike another 0.2 mile to a clearing. You will hear the falls below and to the right. Continue straight ahead and you will descend steeply and through mountain laurel where you can view the falls through the foliage.

Information: Sumter National Forest, Andrew Pickens Ranger District, 112 Andrew Pickens Circle, Mountain Rest, SC, 29664. Telephone: 864-638-9568