Karen and I have passed the Ranger Station on Highway 64 by Parksville/Ocoee Lake many times while traveling between Chattanooga, TN and Charlotte, NC. We never turned off there and took the steep and winding Oswald Road to the top of Chilhowee Mountain because the hiking, biking and running trails in the Chilhowee Recreation Area are the most heavily used pathways in the Cherokee National Forest. On this March morning, the Area was closed and up we went.
There are several breathtaking pullouts on the drive skyward. Our favorite was the overlook featuring Sugar Loaf Mountain across from the Lake Ocoee Inn and Marina. “Ocoee” came from the Cherokee word “U-wa-go-hi” meaning “apricot place” for the passion flowers that used to grow prolifically here.
There were only a few cars in the campground parking lots and we saw fewer people on the trail. The Benton Falls Trail is the backbone of the 25-mile, looped-trails system. The path is mostly flat, sandy and knees friendly. The beginning of the descent to the base of the falls looked like patio pavers. The stone steps in the steeper portions were just as meticulously constructed.
“Where’s Waldo?” Peering down from the edge of the rushing water at the top of Benton Falls was exhilarating. This classic, “wedding cake falls” is 65-feet high and gushes into a great wading pool at the base.
A couple with two children left shortly after we arrived, giving us the perfect spot to sit, eat lunch and marvel at the beautiful surroundings. I imagined these rocks packed with people, like a rookery of seals, with kids and dogs splashing in the pools. It made our peaceful repast even sweeter.
The Benton Falls Trail was 3-miles, round trip. Because it is easy to get to and a pleasant stroll through the woods, the crowds can be murder. The 70 RV and tent camp sites, picnic facilities, multiple bathhouses and running-water potties normally open early April though late October. My advice, “Go when the amenities are closed.”
We chased severn waterfalls in three days from Ducktown, TN. It was a “Quacking good time!”