We have driven past Smith Creek Nature Preserve a few times on our way to
places farther south, and always say “someday we need to check it out”. Well, today’s the day, we pull in off Highway 21 down to the parking
area, which can accommodate maybe ten vehicles, (if they’re small). Here at a
closed gate is a bulletin board with loads of information and even trail maps.
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Who's There Elise?
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We head downhill past the gate on the Main Trail to the first turnoff left, onto signed Elise Trail. This trail is a little steep, but I’ve seen
much worse. One nice thing about Smith Creek Preserve is that the trails are
well maintained and easy to follow. We
soon come to the bottom and Smith Creek, after crossing we turn left (north)
and follow the creek downstream on a volunteer trail.
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Smith Creek on the way to Elise Falls
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Not far, maybe 100 yards we come to a side drainage flowing down from the west. Crossing Smith Creek
again we bushwhack our way up the little creek to QuiVaLa Elise Falls. Qui Va La translates as: ‘Who's there?’ Elise is
of course Elise Roenigk who discovered the falls and along with her husband Marty Roenigk owned this land until they donated it to The Nature Conservancy.
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approach to the falls
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Most folks call the falls, Elise Falls for short and it's a narrow, twisting sort of violent
waterfall that drops about twenty feet. The little canyon that it’s in is quite
narrow, so the sound of the falls is overwhelming. After a few pictures and a short break, we
retrace our way back to the actual trail. |
Qui Va La Elise Falls
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Continuing
uphill away from Smith Creek the trail comes to a fork. The left fork is the
Upper Trail and right the Lower Trail. We choose the Lower Trail since it
follows closer to the creek and of course doesn’t have as much elevation
change. After maybe a half mile we come
alongside Smith Creek in the area known as Smith Creek Canyon.
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next to Smith Creek
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This spot is very picturesque and is a lovely
place to stop for lunch, where we relax on some boulders at the edge of
the creek. Back on the Lower Trail which heads uphill a little with some nice views
down into the canyon. Through here in places the trail is faint making it a little difficult to keep on track. Soon another
trail intersection, which is the other end of the Upper Trail.
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Smith Creek solitude
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About a quarter mile further brings us to
where we need to cross Smith Creek. After
finding a spot we can skip across on dry rocks and keep our boots mostly
dry we come to a wooden bridge and nearby picnic table. This is at the bottom (and end) of the Main
Trail, which goes north back uphill to the parking area. |
Smith Creek Canyon
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Instead, we go south upstream on the Big Spring Trail. This upstream trail stays pretty
close to Smith Creek and is also fairly level.
The whole area is just gorgeous and should not be passed up, which we
almost did until some women we met while taking a break at the picnic table convinced us to check it out. They also tell us about a hiking club they belong to specifically for female hikers.
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'rock hoppin'
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We
check out a couple neat little sinkholes then further some huge boulders and finally a
little two-foot waterfall called Twin Falls. I
don’t know how they came up with the name ‘Twin Falls’, maybe with more flow in
the creek the name might make more sense.
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scenic upstream
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Anyway, it is a very nice spot, and for us the end of the road, even though the trail continues about another mile upstream. We retrace our way back to the wooden bridge
and the Main Trail. Up the sometimes-steep old road back to the gate and parking area. The hike today was
very enjoyable, Smith Creek Nature Preserve is a very pretty area, not at all difficult hiking thanks to the well-maintained trails. |
near 'Twin Falls'
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Today we hiked just under 4
miles, with about 600 feet of elevation
gain. Our hiking time was 2 hours 21 minutes, and our total time at Smith
Creek Preserve was 5 hours 20 minutes.
What a great way to spend the day, with more trails to see at Smith Creek, we’ll have to come back.
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above the canyon
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Smith Creek Nature Preserve: Statistics Chart 13 Entrance to the Preserve is east off Hwy. 21 about 1.2 miles south of the Boxley South Trailhead, or 3.25 miles north of Mossville Baptist Church, the parking area is down the hill in front of a locked gate.
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