After pulling into the signed entrance, I exited and went a little further down the road and acros the street where there was a small parking area. Here started a 20-30 minute(one way) trail that brought me to station cove falls. This trail is fairly flat and an easy hike. It was a bit muddy the day I went and I could imagine the bugs being severe in the summer, but there was no problem in early may this year.
We started at the Historic Site to get our bearings for the walk to the Falls. We were joined by the ranger who walked us to the Station Buildings letting us in and answering our questions. We then left for the Falls Hike, totally over thinking its location and getting lost. Once parked, it is a very lovely walk through lots of greenery. The Falls are beautiful.
Station Cove Falls is a lovely 60-foot cascading waterfall from the headwaters of Station Mountain. The hike to the falls is short and easy and its pretty easy to find, right along Oconee Station Road about a quarter mile past the Oconee Station State Historic Site. Only 4 or 5 cars can fit at the trailhead, but if there isn't room, extra parking is available at the historic site. The trail begins behind the information board and is about a half-mile to the falls (the trail actually continues on to Oconee State Park, but that's a much longer hike). The trail is mostly flat and has a couple wooden footbridges and creek crossing with stepping stones before reach the waterfall. As it's easy to find and hike to, this is a very popular waterfall and suitable to bring younger kids. There's no deep pool to swim in, but you can wade around in the shallow water at the base of the falls, but don't try to climb the wet rocks.
This is an easy hike for all ages. Full shade the entire hike which was nice. The falls do not disappoint!
We love this site and have visited it many, many times over the years, but something must have happened with vandals or whatever, because the last time we visited was on a drizzly day when there were no other visitors. We headed up the hill to the Richard's house for a nice walk, but the caretaker appeared and started following us. He shadowed us all the way to the Richards house. We were pleasant and chatted with him at first, said our goodbyes and moved on, but to our surprise, he followed us to the blockhouse too! He would not leave and intruded on every moment of our visit, watching us like a hawk. We're an older couple and we were quite obviously not there to raise havoc, get drunk, or destroy property, but the suspicion this caretaker viewed us with was nothing short of offensive. We haven't been back since. Sorry to disappoint you, caretaker, but our wild and crazy days are far behind us. Maybe they should hire someone with a little more discretion and better judgement to keep an eye on the Station.
Nestled in the extreme NW corner of South Carolina is Oconee Station Historic Site. The original building was built in 1792 and an inn /stagecoach stop was built here in 1805 by William Richards. Beautiful setting amongst the tall hemlocks and pines with nature trails and a well maintaind restroom facility. This site is worth a trip for TRUE historians and nature lover too. The day we were there a Bird Watching club was there observing the birds of the forest and being impressed with God's handywork in nature! A must see if in this area!
Like the title said, well preserved. Would have liked get inside, no mention of tours or access in the bulletin board.
We were visiting another state park & saw signs for the waterfalls. We parked & decided to hike to the waterfall. It is an easy hike, we took our 4 year old & he walked the entire way. The walk is a great chance to experience the natural beauty of SC. The falls are wonderful & make a nice backdrop for family photos... A nice reward for the 30min. hike to get there!
Good campground close by, cool in the hot summertime.People here are helpful and can tell you about the area.
I discovered this while driving by and decided to check it out. The buildings are excellently preserved and the signage describes what one would want to know about them. There were no staff on hand at the time, but I would guess they were not far away. There is an excellent trail of moderate difficulty going to a marvelous waterfall which I recommend doing.