September 15th - The entire family went out on a Saturday afternoon hike in the Dennis Cove area to find Dennis Cove Falls and Coon Den Falls.  We started out on CNF Trail #39 (very close to the Dennis Cove Campground) at about 2:00, and it turned out to be a very enjoyable, scenic, and adventurous hike for everyone as it followed Laurel Fork almost all the way to the falls.  This is not a strenuous hike (with very little elevation gain), but the 3 stream crossings on the way to the falls were very challenging in the aspect of trying to stay dry.  

The first crossing had a steel cable and a log to balance on, but the cable was too high for Campbell so he piggybacked on Shannon's back, while Taylor and I carried the gear.  

The second crossing also had a cable, but there were no rocks or logs at the base so Campbell, Shannon, and I rock-hopped, but Taylor opted for an amazing cross on the cable (see photo below).

The 3rd crossing was directly over a small waterfall, which made it a little more scary.  There was a small log there where we had to do another balancing act to get from rock to rock, but all of us made it without getting wet.  There was a cable there too, but it was also useless and more downstream from where we crossed.

(Click all images for larger photos)

Our arrival at Dennis Cove Falls was a treat.  It's a small waterfall (~25' drop), but it's wide and located in a scenic area with a big pool at its base.  We spent a little time there resting and taking photos before our trek back to the car.  We also carried a tripod and I tried some longer exposure photos, which I feel turned out nice (1st and 3rd photos below).  My GPS showed the round trip mileage being 2.4 miles, but everything I've read said this is a 3.2 mile hike.  My GPS could have lost reception and been inaccurate so I'll call this a 3.2 mile hike until I can check it again at a later date.  Again, this was a very nice and especially fun hike for the kids, but if you don't want to get wet you may not want to try this one.

***(Download a Short Video Here!)***

Dennis Cove Falls	The Fullers at Dennis Cove Falls	Another Photo of Dennis Cove Falls
Shannon, Taylor and Cam	Shannon Taking in the Scenery	Campbell "Rock-Hopper" Fuller

After getting back to the car we drove approximately .2 miles down the road to CNF Trail #37 and made the climb up to Coon Den Falls.  This was a 450 foot climb in about .5 mile so it was very steep at times.  We didn't arrive until about 5:00 p.m. and it was getting dark on that side of the mountain so the photo opportunities weren't good.  The water flow at Coon Den was very low too with all the dry weather lately, so maybe I can return here another day to get some better photos.  With some good water flow this could be a very nice waterfall with over 50 feet of drop.

Total miles hike for this day:  3.2 to Dennis Cove Falls + 1.0 miles to Coon Den Falls = 4.2

A Nice Photo Taken by Taylor 

Queen of the Wilderness 

Coon Den Falls (50')

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