Widely considered one of the best canyons in Pisgah — three clean waterfall rappels in a couple of hours, with no permit and a straightforward approach. A common next step after a beginner outing, not a place to learn the basics.
Three rappels, each off a tree or a log spanning the waterway: Chestnut Falls at 30 ft, then 80 ft, then 50 ft, with a short downclimb in between (there’s an easier line over boulders if you’d rather skip the waterway downclimb). Total car-to-car time runs 2-5 hours depending on your group.
Hazards
- Swift water is the flagged concern — all three rappels put you in or next to moving current.
- RopeWiki’s own note is blunt about it: “This is not the place to learn canyoneering techniques — you should know how to rappel and how to build anchors before you do this canyon.”
Anchors
All three anchors are natural: a tree for R1, logs spanning the waterway for R2 and R3. No bolted hardware here, so come with the natural-anchor skills and backup material to match.
Beta summarized from RopeWiki’s Chestnut Creek page — read the full page for current conditions and photos before you go.