Wintergreen Falls, Dupont State Recreational Forest

Date	Distance	Time	Elevation Gain	Average Moving Time	Year to Date Miles
9/12/2026	5.8 miles	2 hours 49 minutes	454'	2.4 mph	271.5

Parking: 

• Guion Farm Access

Map:

• Pisgah Map Co. Dupont

Directions:

• From the parking lot, take the Connector Trail next to the parking lot. Turn right onto Tarkiln Branch Road. Turn left onto Wintergreen Falls Trail. Hike to Wintergreen Falls. Turn around. Turn left onto Grassy Creek Trail. Hike to the intersection of Joanna Road. Return the same way, but skipping the trip to Wintergreen Falls.

Temps in the low 80's and we had a free day, so we went back to Dupont. We have never hiked to Wintergreen Falls, so that was one of our destinations today. We usually try to avoid Dupont on weekends due to crowds, but the Guion Farm Access parking area typically is less crowded than other Dupont parking lots. 

We started out on a road, and had the occasional mountain bikers cross our paths. We hiked to Wintergreen Falls, hoping it would be a good place for Krumm to swim. It wasn't.  Its a small waterfall, with a small pool. We let Krumm get in the water, but he struggled to get out, because the rocks on the edge were too slippery for him to climb up. I thought I might have to go in to help him out, but eventually he did. We let him wade in an area that was easier to get out of, but it wasn't enough to swim in. So definitely a 2 paws down rating. 

We continued on down Grassy Creek Trail. We had seen there is a creek crossing, so we brought Crocs and small towels in case we had to wade. There are big rocks at the crossing, so if the water is low, you can cross without getting wet. I would still recommend hiking poles for the crossing if you have shorter legs or have balance issues. We hiked to Joanna Road. We are working on hiking all of the trails in Dupont. Joanna Road was going to be a challenge, due to me not being able to hike longer distances currently. The Pisgah Map Co. map (2022 edition) shows Joanna Road extending to the east. There is a trailhead at the end, but it says you need a high clearance vehicle to reach it. Well - it turns out that section is permanently closed. So no need for us to find a friend with a higher clearance vehicle. On the hike back, after crossing Grassy Creek, we stopped and let Krumm swim there. It is actually deep enough that it makes a decent swimming spot. He was happy.

Sign on the connector path next to the parking lot.

Stream crossing that was shown on the map

Joanna Road is closed to the east of the trail intersection.
I didn't see Briery Fork Trail which I thought was at this intersection too.

Stopping to swim at Grassy Creek