My first adventure inspired by Kevin Adams' 3rd addition of the North Carolina Waterfalls guide. I've been eyeing Steels Creek for a while and knew there were at least 2 waterfalls there. It sits just below NC 181 to the west and east of Linville Gorge. Since it is surrounded by really popular hiking and swimming areas, I assumed this hike would be quiet. It turned out to be desolate, I saw no other people or cars all day.

According to the new guide there's at least 11 named waterfalls in the Steels Creek basin. My goal was to hit 7 of these and save the 4 on Buck Creek for another day. I started with the newly rerouted Mountains-to-Sea Trail off FSR 496. For some reason they moved it to follow the road for a mile when the old version parallels the road and is in fine condition. Once I reached Steels Creek I first saw Teacups Falls then did a long creek walk to Beverly Hillbilly Falls. I turned around at Steels Creek Falls, which is an extremely dangerous place to explore. On the way back I did a shorter creek walk to Rip Breeches Falls, then did a pretty extreme bushwhack down to the middle of the imposing Zigzag Falls. I took the Old MST for a mini loop to pass by the top of Newt Falls and then finally see Upper Steels Creek Falls. This is a beautiful, but dangerous area to explore.

Hike distance and time - 9.1 miles in 6 hours and 20 minutes

Hike location
https://goo.gl/maps/KdkbF4KynHFEGyHSA

Hike report
https://www.hikingupward.com/PNF/Stee...