Discovery Falls & Bear Pen Branch via Headwater Road
4.4 mi · ▲ 443 ft · 1 hr 41 min
Discovery Falls & Bear Pen Branch via Headwater Road is a 4.4-mile out-and-back near Big East Fork, NC. The route reaches Discovery Falls at the turnaround, 2.2 miles in. It climbs 443 ft, with sections as steep as 22% grade, and is mostly gravel. It scores 51/100 on the Ambleway Wildness scale: backcountry feel.
Elevation
Getting there
Directions
Discovery Falls & Bear Pen Branch via Headwater Road
4.4 mi · ▲ 443 ft · 1 hr 41 min
Elevation 3,044–3,395 ft
Out & Back
Trailhead: Sunwall Trailhead · 35.31020, -82.79997
Weather Sep 5: Overcast, high 88°F / low 68° · precip 16% · wind 3 mph · sunrise 7:07 AM · sunset 7:54 PM
Parking lot at the trailhead
- Start on Headwater Road, heading N.
- 0.4 miTurn left onto Cove Creek Road, heading W.
- 100 ftBear right onto Headwater Road, heading NW.
- 0.8 miBear left, heading NW.
- 0.2 miContinue straight onto Bear Pen Branch, heading NE.
- 50 ftBear left onto Headwater Road, heading NE.
- 0.3 miSharp right onto Log Hollow Road, heading N.
- 0.2 miTurn right, heading W.
- 0.2 miReach Discovery Falls, then turn around and head back the way you came.
- 0.4 miSharp left onto Headwater Road, heading E.
- 0.3 miBear right onto Bear Pen Branch, heading S.
- 50 ftContinue straight onto Headwater Road, heading S.
- 1.1 miBear left onto Cove Creek Road, heading SE.
- 100 ftTurn right onto Headwater Road, heading S.
- 0.3 miArrive back at the trailhead.
Each distance is the walk from the previous step. Tap a step for a map of its junction.
Trail surface
Weather
Good to know
- Parking lot at the trailhead
More from Sunwall Trailhead Trailhead
- Headwater Road 1.9 mi · ▲ 141 ft
- Headwater Road 2 mi · ▲ 314 ft
- Headwater Road 2.3 mi · ▲ 343 ft
- Bennett Knob Road via Headwater Road 2.8 mi · ▲ 140 ft
- Cove Creek Trail & Upper Cove Creek - A 3.2 mi · ▲ 349 ft
- Upper Cove Creek - A & Upper Cove Creek - B via Headwater Road 3.3 mi · ▲ 320 ft
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Hikes near Big East Fork, North Carolina