If you have followed along with me on my move to North Carolina you have watched my fascination with waterfalls grow.  I have always had an affinity for the water and even though I am not a swimmer I love to be near any kind of body of water.  It is soothing and restorative for me.  Finding ourselves living in the Land of Waterfalls has been amazing and we are trying to carve out time to go see as many as we can in our new home county of Transylvania.

We had the opportunity this week to enjoy a visit from two of our college friends who are now retired and doing volunteer work with the National Park System. They are currently in King’s Mountain Military Park in South Carolina and so they gave us dates when they were free and we worked out a time for them to come visit us.  Karen and Tom Hartley are having the time of their lives traveling from park to park and sharing the history of each place with visitors.  Their responsibilities vary from place to place but it seems that they are enjoying each place and what it has to offer. Karen is chronicling their adventures at her blog Sharing Horizons and I know she would love to have you stop over sometime.

Tom and Karen Hartley

We were thrilled that they chose to come see us and planned an afternoon of hiking and seeing waterfalls. Well, the weather had other ideas and with rain coming intermittently and threatening to do a lot of storming we had to revise our itinerary a bit.  We still managed to show them Connestee Falls  and Looking Glass Falls and decided to go take a little bit of a drive to see the infamous Sliding Rock.

Sliding Rock is part of Looking Glass Falls and is located outside of Brevard in the Pigsah National Forest.

Who doesn’t visit Sliding Rock in the pouring rain?

The appeal of this place is that the waterfall is a gradual sloping one over rocks that eventually end in a 7-8 foot plunge pool at the bottom.  The natural slide makes it the perfect spot to cool off in the summertime as you can imagine.  Simply walk up one side and then slide on down into the pool of cool water at the bottom.  

Rules mandate that the slider slide in a seated position and and the $2 fee for entry during the season helps to support the park and pay for the lifeguard that is on duty during various hours.

Tom reliving his days of lifeguarding.

I can only imagine how busy this place gets.  There is parking in a lot above the feature as well as along the road on US Highway 276.  The slope itself is about 60 feet and rumor has it the water is pretty cold even in the winter time.

Obviously the best time for viewing the waterfall from either of the two platforms is in the winter months when it is raining.   We encountered one other visitor and his dog while we were there so it was the perfect time for viewing if not for sliding.  

If you are ever in the area you definitely need to make this a stop on your trip. There are even restrooms and changing areas for those adventurous folks who want to join in the sliding fun.  I would just suggest you do it in the summer months and not in March in the rain although the crowds will be much greater.

To get to Sliding Rock you will need to travel north from the intersection of U.S. Highway 276, approximately 7.7 miles north of the intersection of 276, U.S. Highway 64, and NC Highway 280 in Brevard, North Carolina. You will pass Looking Glass Falls and Sliding Rock will be on the right hand side of the road.

Oh and did I mention that we did a bit of window shopping in Brevard and ventured into Downtown Chocolates?  Yum. 

I would love to hear if any of you have been here before.  Don’t forget to let me know in the comments and help support our Comments for a Cause this month—The Women’s Prison Book Project.