Middle Creek, North Carolina, US

NC 106 - Park and Huck

Paradise Falls - Middle Creek, NC

Paradise Falls - Middle Creek, NC
Photo of Paradise Falls on Middle Creek, NC by Paul Meinersmann taken 05/06/03 @ ~5.5ft on Cullasaja

Gauge Information

River Description

This thing starts out small, but don't be fooled. I only hiked maybe the first .5 mile and the drops just got bigger and then the bottom dropped out.

The first three drops or so are pretty clean looking slides with good recovery pools. After that they get interesting; make sure you land scout.

 

I have hiked pretty much all of Middle Creek and it is defently a Park and Huck Creek.  There are 5 slides that are defently runnable, and one more huge waterfall that someone may can run but for most of us it is not.  After this 6th rapid things get really out of hand.  The creek starts to get full of tress and rocks for a little ways after the big falls then the bottom drops out.  The first huge waterfall is the Paradise Falls in the picture then there is the Death Flume.  After that the creek just gets nastier.  The creek drops over 400 feet in a quarter of a mile as it falls off the highlands platue.  I did not see anything that looked close to being runnable plus the portage would be horrible as it is all thick rhodo.  The waterfalls are all full of huge bolders that have fallen off the mountain and it stays that way all the way untill it get flat in the valley below.  That being said.  Run the first 5 slides that are all next to 106 with a pretty good fishermen's trail besides.  Land scout before you put on to check for new wood and make sure you can get out at the eddy after the 5th slide or you will be running the last slide which drops over 70 feet.  Run it then hike back up to your car or run laps on it.