Our ninth hike of the year ... March 29, 2024
We decided to head west and go to the Oconee Passage.
You begin at the same trailhead as Station Falls. The trail overlaps the Station Cove Falls (blue blaze) for the first ⅔ mile then the trails split. TI trail to this point has been pretty easy with several early wildflowers and all of the water crossings h bridges. We stayed on the waterfall trail to go see Station Cove Falls ... there was one rock hop style creek crossing - and some roots to look out for - but nothing too technical. We arrive at the falls at. miles and have it to ourselves. This is a gorgeous waterfall and the morning sunlight was creating a s rainbow in the waterfall. After we soaked up the views ... we turned to leave and spotted a couple of jack in the pulpit plants atop a rock - one wasn't fully folded over which was neat to see. We made o way back to the junction and took a left onto the Ocone Connector Passage (yellow blaze) at 1.16 mi From here the trail climbs via a series of switchbacks before following along the top of the ridgeline where we saw several daisies and another jack in the pulpit. After one last climb ... we crossed into Ocone State Park and came to a junction where several trails come together. So, we decided to go ou to Tamassee Knob - the trail was relatively moderate with some narrow places and some climbing. An in the middle section of the trail there was a bunch of trilliums! And also one log that is a very big ster (and even bigger on the way bck). We finally got to the summit at 4.86 miles- but it's a small area to enjoy the view. Thankfully, a couple of guys was willing to share space with Sally & I ... so we sat back and enjoyed the view and some snacks. After that break ... we made our way back to the trail junction where I accidentally kept following the yellow blazes thinking it was the Oconee Connector Passage - but after a short time I realized my error and backtracked to rejoin the passage trail. At 6.85 miles the passage trail turns left to descend down off the ridge where you have a couple of bridges and an old dam to cross. At 7.73 miles ... we finished the Oconee Connector Passage trail! It was kind of an unremarkable end to the passage - by a parking area - but nice to know we'd completed it.
From the parking area (it's small - maybe fits 4-5 cars) we crossed the road and continued toward the Oconee Lake via the Chestnut trail . this was an easy trail that connects up to the Lake trail which goes around the Oconee Lake. Both of these trails are very easy (particularly the lake trail) ... we decided to stop in the visitor center at the park. I didn't see anything about dogs not being allowed - so Sally & I went in - used the facilities where one of the workers was like "oh ... dogs aren't allowed. Thankfully, she was super nice and was telling me about her dogs. After purchasing a couple of stickers (and one of the workers caught me before I left - I'd almost left my wallet behind) ... we made our way back outside and sat on the porch for awhile to get everything re-packed an organized for the rest of the day. One thing I'll note ... nobody else said anything about Sally being inside and I honestly didn't see any signs saying she wasn't allowed. However, since the one worker told me she wasn't - I'd heed that particular. advice, Also, the bathrooms are super small ... I couldn't even get my pack in - I had to leave it on the floor outside the bathroom. So, after all that, we made our way back down to the lake trail to continue that loop - where I got to see my first Oconee Bell flowers - they are gorgeous! Following along the lake trail was nice and there's several cabins around it that you can rent. On the northern end of the lake trail - there was a good sized wet/muddy portion to get around - thankfully it wasn't too bad! We finally finish the loop around the lake and take the Chestnut trail back up to the road. Just past the sign for the passage - Chestnut trail goes left - so we took that - it's just a short little trail that goes up and over and comes out by a picnic table/old dam. From there we took the Oconee Connector passage back up to the ridge and took a left onto the Station
Mountain Road which was a nice quiet road walk to connect to Lost hats Road which led to Hidden Falls trail. Hidden Falls trail was really nice and moderate (particularly the last section of trail that drops from the ridge down to the falls) and it had a surprise waterfall that I wasn't expecting at 11.6 miles- Disappearing Falls - I didn't have high expectations for this one but honestly it was really pretty and worth the short side trip off the trail. Climbing back up from the falks though - I hyper-extended my knee or something - and had to take a breather to see if I wanted to continue to Hidden Falls. So, after gathering my breath - we made our way SLOWLY to Hidden Falk. It was definitely worth the effort to get there (12.43 miles in). It's a nice tiered waterfall that would be great to just sit and soak it all in. Unfortunately, with the sun getting lower in the sky and over 6 miles to return to the car - it was time to go. We made our way back up the trail and took a left on the Foothis g trel (because I really don't like road walking that much) to connect back up to the Oconee Connector Passage (you intersect it where Tamassee Knob trail comes in). This section had lots of Rtie ups and but nothing too hard. Once, back on the passage trail _ we made our way down to the car enjoying the evening Ight on the trees! At 16.3 miles - we were back on the Station Cove Falls trail and made it back to the car before darkl We even spotted another lack in the Pulpit along the wey. Overal, was a great day hike - especially with the wildflowers, views, and waterfalls!
Things to note ... as I mentioned - no dogs are allowed in the visitor center at the state park and you can't leave them unattended on the porch area. The visitor center store is nice and the employees were friendly. The Oconee Connector Passage is pretty easy. (other than the climb up from Station Cove Falls trail) - honestly, it's probably my 2nd favorite passage of the Palmetto Trail that l’ve done. Station Cove Falls is a pretty popular waterfall hike and one that's easy to get to and it seems like they've done some trail maintenance since the last time I was there. Jamassee Knob was a nice view - but it's such a small viewing/enjoying area at the top - I wouldn't go if it was going to be a busy day. The Lake trail was super easy and very enjoyable. Chestnut trail was nice - but not really to much to see other than the old dam. Hidden Falls trail was definitely worth doing - both for it's namesake and also Disappearing Falls.
It's more moderate in difficulty but if you take your time and watch your step - I feel like most people could do it. It's probably one of the easiest 15+ mile day hikes l've done ... well aside from me being silly and injuring myself - but I feel like if you're looking at extending your hiking distance - this would be a great trail to use because you can modify it on the go if you're not feeling like doing as much. And all the trails are pretty well maintained. The biggest obstacle was the BIG log on Tamassee Knob trail ... it was tricky to get over and it could be harder if it's wet because on the other side is dirt - so if it's rained it could be muddy/slippery. And I had to use my arms to kinda pull myself up and over coming back from the Knob - short person problem. Sally had no issues at all - and she loved all the waterfalls too!
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