Panthertown Valley

To gain access from the east side, take 281 north from Hwy 64 a mile or so then turn left onto Cold Mountain Road, which winds past Lake Toxaway, then turns into gravel and heads up the mountain. (If you look at the telephone poles on the way up you will see small numbers on yellow and black tags. Just past pole #61 on the left - 4.5 miles from 281 - you can park and follow a trail down to Raven Rock Falls. The trailhead is past the pole and its well worth the 1/2 mile or so hike).  Keep going up Cold Mountain and at 5.7 miles total you'll see that the road straight ahead is now gated (the old entrance), but you can take a left and head up the road a few hundred yards to a single lane drive on the right leading to a parking area.

Access from the west side is reached by driving 8 miles on Hwy 64 west from the 281 south intersection to Cedar Creek Road. Take a right, go 2.3 miles and take a right on Breedlove Road, then almost 4 miles to the parking area. Near the end, the road changes to dirt and has some pretty major bumps and dips.

Panthertown  is home to granite domes, waterfalls, valley floors and rare high altitude bogs. The area is a maze of unmarked trails going off in every direction, and holds the headwaters for Greenland and Panthertown Creeks and the East Fork of the Tuckaseegee River.  The valley was heavily logged in the 30's and suffered majors fires and erosion in the 60's, so there are almost no old growth trees left. Despite this and Duke Power running a major power lane through the area in the late 80's, Panthertown Valley has made a comeback and is now home to a wide variety of flora and fauna, including the carnivorous sundew plant. Some of the plants are rare, so please stick to the trails, don't trample vegetation, and try to avoid the moss and lichens growing on the rock faces in the higher altitudes.

www.ncwaterfalls.com/panther1.htm

www.slickrockexpeditions.com/map_request.htm - form to order map (also available at Highland Books in Brevard & various outfitting stores)