Graveyard Fields Trail is a 2.9 mile heavily trafficked loop trail located near Balsam Grove, North Carolina that features a waterfall and is rated as moderate. The trail offers a number of activity options and is best used from March until October. Dogs are also able to use this trail but must be kept on leash.
dogs on leash
kid friendly
fishing
hiking
mountain biking
nature trips
walking
running
forest
river
views
waterfall
wild flowers
wildlife
muddy
rocky
Positive: Lower falls is beautiful. Upper falls is more secluded and less crowded. Easier hike with no significant elevation gains. Unique environment and sections walking through the "woods" is creepy but in a beautiful way. Negatives: Upper falls was kind of unimpressive. Muddy and not well marked. Overall glad I did it but probably would not do a second time
This place was so fantastic, perfect length trail for sure. Not the best marked trail, but we found our way around eventually.
Honestly, the Lower Falls are much prettier than the Upper Falls, and only take 10 minutes to walk to. The trail to the Upper Falls was very muddy, not well marked, and through a forest-fire-laden area, so not a lot of large trees. My advice would be to skip it. The nice part about the Upper Falls is the rock scrambling to get to the top of the falls, which is fun if you're looking for something more technical.
What’s the deal with cracked wooded steps. Many boards were loose. There was even a gap of two planks missing on the way to the lower waterfall. Not safe at all. Watch your step! Too crowded! Too many big dogs loose in the lower part of the waterfall. Enjoyed walking through the first part of the trail. Muddy.
Great hike. Elevation was easy breezy, but the terrain was a little yucky. Trail is not well marked but it is obvious very quickly when you are going the wrong direction. Super busy during this fall season, get there early.
Elaine Patsalos recorded Graveyard Fields Trail
Enjoyed the hike. Nice trail, muddy, has a waterfall.
We would do this trail again because it leads to the upper waterfall which is not near as busy as the lower waterfall. We had to do a bit of scrambling to get there but we enjoy it. I didnt give it a five because we felt it could have been marked a little better. We met a few groups who were not sure if they were going the right way. We always take video footage of our hikes so if you are deciding whether or not to do this hike check it out: https://youtu.be/TxZZOYQf1LI
Trail is heavily eroded in many places with lots of rocks and roots. Larger issue is lack of trail markings once off the parking area and past the initial trail intersections. I printed out the map HOWEVER it does not show a second good sized stream coming off Graveyard Ridge joining the Yellowstone and it is appears the trail bears to the right - it doesn't. Cross the stream to the left to get to the upper falls. Lots of side trails that go nowhere as well.
not too hard and two pretty waterfalls. good for the kids.
Pretty trail with lots of foliage that is changing colors right now. Got there around 10am and there were only a few others, however an hour later it was packed! Get there early!
Nice easier hike. The falls were kind of small. Scenery was not bad it was however heavily travelled. There was nowhere to park when we left.
quite a few people but nice hike.
Moderate hike but worth the trek. Even the upper falls are pretty unique, but the lower falls are pretty astounding!
great trail. Grandchildren loved it. upper falls is a workout .
Judith H.
Have a map! Easy to get off trail. Lower falls are pretty. Small but pretty. Never got to upper falls due to poor trail demarcation but circled back and finished the loop. After the lower falls, the loop is not terribly interesting.
Nice hike good exercise, watch out for those sneaky roots that jump outta nowhere to trip you.
Trail lesson #1....take a trail map. Although it wouldn’t have helped us. The trail to the Upper Falls seems well marked at first...until it isn’t. There’s a point about halfway where the trail splits, with no “blaze” to indicate which way. We stayed to the right of the stream (wrong stream!) on a clearly worn trail. That trail kept getting fainter until it stopped. While we were trying to decide, another couple came up, then another...so we weren’t alone. We hiked back to the fork and followed it to the Falls..... very pretty. And we met some other hikers and had an adventure! We made a rock “arrow” at the fork....just remember...cross the stream at the fork.
Great trail with a nice waterfall and views! Not extremely strenuous but does have a few climbs that are steep.