After taking a quick, refreshing dip in the Davidson River in Pisgah Forest, he headed out towards Little River, NC to the Hooker Falls parking area in nearby Dupont State Forest.

Hooker Falls is an extremely popular NC waterfall, and Apollo has not once had this waterfall alone. The 1/4 mile trail to the falls doubles as a gravel road, which makes this one of the few North Carolina waterfalls that offer handicap access. Apollo believes people that request this access need to do so in advance, and can do so by contacting the Division of Forest Services here.

Apollo at the base of Hooker Falls.

Ahh. During the summer, Hooker Falls gets a fair amount of sunshine throuout the day, keeping it plenty warm for sunbathing and swimming. As the seasons get shorter though, it gets pretty darn cold here… fast. There are two basic ways to visit Hooker Falls. The most common way is parking in the parking lot, hiking the short trail and thats it. The more fun way is camping at Cascade Lake Recreation Area, and paddling the mile or so trip upstream to the falls. This is a fantastic family paddle with incredible scenery.

Apollo wastes no time getting in the water.

Apollo has been to Hooker Falls a number of times over the years. During the big floods from the two hurricanes in 2005, Hooker Falls was flooded like all hell and it caused quite extensive damage to the pool area at the bottom. The heavy-use from all the visitors wasn’t helping matters either. Dupont State Forest rose to the task and spent a good chunk of money upgrading the base of Hooker Falls. Apollo commends them on a fantastic job.

Hooker Falls is tops for sunbathing.

Funny thing about this place. Sunbathing is a popular thing to do. Apollo always loves seeing the bikinis. But with bikinis inherently comes idiots that feel the need to show off. This is where they then proceed to the top of Hooker Falls, to jump off and prove their machismo. This is always a bad idea, but makes for great theater for those who love rescuing the injured.

Apollo toys with twice his body weight.

Apollo didn’t need to jump off any stinky waterfall to show off to the ladies. His biceps measure about the same big around as his skull. His thighs are the size of his waist and this here rock was easily thirteen or twenty-five times his body weight. Easy.

The intimate closeup of Hooker Falls.

It doesn’t take long for Apollo to get bored. He got a little tired of watching stupid show-off teenagers play on the wet rocks at the base of the falls and bust their butts and hurt themselves. He figured, if only people could see what the falls look like up close, that they wouldn’t need personally check it out. With that in mind, Apollo’s crew loads up the safety gear and water-sensitive camera equipment and moves in for the intimate shots.

Hooker Falls has tremendous volume, when it rains.

Apollo couldn’t really decide which shot was cooler; the aggressive still-frame or the smooth soft easy-going frame. Apollo was scared fecal-less, regardless of which frame it is.

Apollo climbs Hooker Falls.

Unsatisfied with the view from the base, Apollo did a little Rambo III-hiding-from-the-Russian-Army-style free-climbing on the rugged, terrorist-laden cliffs of Afghanistan. Sly and Apollo go back quite a ways.

Apollo cruises to the top.

Apollo really digs Hooker Falls and highly recommends you see it. You can easily spend a day at Hooker Falls or just a couple hours and see 5-10 additional falls in the area. Dupont State Forest is a haven for hikers, mountain bikers, and horseback riders alike. Apollo puts his stamp or excellence on Hooker Falls.

Enjoying the view from the top of Hooker Falls.

Hooker Falls is a very scenic waterfall. The view of the falls from the viewing platform gives you an beautiful view of the surrounding landscape. The base of the falls offers a very wonderful summertime swimming hole, and numerous trails in the area will keep you occupied all day. From the Hooker Falls parking area, you can cross the street for a moderately-steep hike to Triple Falls, a much larger and more powerful falls than Hooker. After you’re good and worn out from the Triple Falls hike, return back to the parking area, grab your swim trunks and stroll down the easy 1/4 mile trail to Hooker Falls. For the patient folks out there, be sure to keep your eye on the base of the falls where the water is all white and churned up. After a few minutes, Apollo guarantees you’ll see trout trying to jump and swim upstream. It’s like watching the Discovery Channel!

Calm water at the top of Hooker Falls.

Upstream of Hooker Falls are numerous spots to access Little River. Apollo strongly urges parents that let their kids play in Little River to keep a very close eye on them, and only do so well upstream from the falls. Very close to the parking area, there is a ‘horse ford’ where the creek opens up, and is very shallow. This is a great spot for kids to play thats nowhere close to the actual waterfall. But listen, the rocks are usually VERY slippery and use common sense. Apollo wants everyone to enjoy Hooker Falls and the Little River, not have it be the subject of nightmares.