Hidden Treasures #6: South Carolina
Yellow Branch Falls & Other Waterfalls
Sumter National Forest
(864) 638-9568
The Andrew Pickens Ranger District of Sumter National Forest in Oconee County, S.C., contains multiple gorgeous waterfalls.
Yellow Branch Falls. Photo by Mark Oleg Ozboyd, Southeast Nature Society
Yellow Branch Falls Trail, a moderately difficult three-mile round-trip path, leads to its namesake waterfall, a 50-foot scenic cascade.
The Andrew Pickens district is also home to Brasstown Falls, Big Bend Falls, King Creek Falls, Lee Falls, Long Creek Falls, Fall Creek Falls, Opossum Creek Falls, Pigpen Falls, Riley Moore Falls, Spoonauger Falls, Miuka Falls, Station Cove Falls and Station Creek Falls.
Still looking for an adventure in the area? Stumphouse Tunnel Park, which features Issaqueena Falls and Stumphouse Tunnel, is located just outside the national forest. Note that the park closes at 5 p.m.
Local legends and an 1898 poem say that the 200-foot Issaqueena Falls is named for a Cherokee woman who warned white settlers of an impending attack. To escape pursuing American Indians, she appeared to jump over the falls, but Issaqueena was actually hiding behind the falls and survived.
Great views of the cascading Issaqueena Falls can be accessed quickly through the viewing platform or a steep hike down to its base.
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