Description: Set back into a hillside and surrounded by an explosion of shrubbery, Spoonauger Falls runs down a stepped rock face in a broad sheet. The 50-foot high waterfall is among the more popular in this area of the Chattooga River watershed, no small part due to the easy, 20-minute hike. And like its cousin, King Creek Falls, this waterfall is camera-friendly, especially in the summer when plants snake all about and afternoon light highlights the innumerable horizontal slashes of the rock.

Height: 50 feet

Length of hike: 0.5 mile

Time to hike: 20 minutes

Difficulty: Easy

Creek or river: Spoonauger Creek

USGS Quadrangle: Tamassee

Directions to falls:

1. From Walhalla, drive north on SC 28 for 8 miles to the junction of SC 28 and SC 107, and bear right (north) onto SC 107.

2. Drive 10.4 miles and turn left onto Burrell's Ford Road (FS 708, paved for first 0.3 mile).

3. Drive approximately 2.0 miles to the Chattooga Trail parking area on the left (look for the Forest Service Bulletin Board).

NOTE: There may not be a sign for the Chattooga Trail.

4. Hike north on the Chattooga Trail, which roughly parallels the Chattooga River for 0.25 mile, then cross Spoonauger Creek.

5. Immediately on the right will be a side trail. A sign provides  directions to follow Spoonauger Creek upstream for 200 yards to reach the falls.

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