We have driven by this trail head many times so today we finally stopped and hiked this short trail on the way home from a longer hike. This trail is on 276 about 8.5 miles down from the parkway. The parking is on the left right past the first bridge after Sliding Rock. The hike begins by crossing a foot bridge over Looking Glass Creek and climbing up the hill.
Almost immediately we began seeing wildflowers. I counted five colors of violets - deep purple, light purple, purple and white, white, and yellow. There were several other varieties of flowers also. And at the first creek crossing there were butterflies. We were never far from water as the trail circled the hill.
This trail couldn't seem to decide if it wanted to go uphill or downhill. Large portions of it are mostly level. There are several creek crossing but footbridges are provided. This is a popular and well maintained trail that is appropriate and interesting for children. We passed several groups of people having a relaxing stroll or enjoying the water.
As we approached the waterfall we heard thunder in the distance and began to feel the first raindrops. We took a minute to get a few pictures and headed back up the trail. Quick afternoon showers are common in this area with sudden downpours but today it only sprinkled. By the time we were nearing the trail head the sun was coming out again.
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