Three waterfalls for the price of one
By Austin Explorer on 6/7/2022
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Distance: 3.21 Miles Duration: 1 hour, 58 minutes
The first of several hikes today to nearby waterfalls. We had to drive over about 8 miles of gravel road to get to the Lake in the Woods campground from which the trail starts. The Forest Service designates the trail as #1505 but there's not a sign that states this until you walk a short distance down the trail. There is a non-specific trailhead sign at the parking area though.
At the start the forest is rather uniform with almost all trees being roughly the same size and type. Probably the result of clear cutting in the past. It's a forest, yes, but it has a different artificial feel to it. Later in the hike the diversity picks up a bit so things look more normal.
The hike really boasts three falls along the trail. The first occurs about one third the way towards Clover Falls. I could not find a name for these falls, but in some ways is the more refreshing of the bunch. It has the easiest access to its base, so if you want to get close to the spray at the bottom this if your best chance. A small bridge crosses over its top.
The trail is muddy at times but there are also pleasant segments of soft surfaces due to abundant needle, moss and pine cone debris scattered about. It's almost like walking on cushioning.
About two thirds of the way to Clover there is another named falls, this one called Middle Hemlock Falls. Previously, Clover Falls was called Upper Hemlock Falls. The drop is greater here than at the previous falls but there's no easy access to get closer, so we just watched from the trail which rises above it.
Finally, we arrived at Clover Falls, the turnaround point of our hike. Of the three waterfalls it may be the most obstructed by trees, which is something of a letdown. We're not quite sure to what lengths some photographer had to go through to get the shots of the falls we've seen elsewhere.