American Travel Journal: Indian Flats Falls & Middle Prong Trail

Our hike along the beautiful lower half of Middle Prong Trail earlier in March 2016 (here) led us to plan to hike the complete trail. The water level in Lynn Camp Prong was significantly lower when we hiked this trail in late March 2016 than earlier in the month, but the numerous falls, cascades and swift water still made for a wonderful hike. Except for the side trail to the falls, the entire trail is at least the width of a single lane road because it was formerly the route of a logging railroad. The lower part of the trail climbs at a steady 5% grade up to the bridge over Indian Flats Prong. For the ½ mile above the bridge, the trail steepens to about an 8% grade through a series of switchbacks until it ends at a junction with the Greenbrier Ridge and Lynn Camp Prong Trails. The 4.1 mile trail climbs from an elevation of 1926 feet to about 3165 feet at the junction.

This trip we had sunny weather, so we took our time and explored a bit on the way. We found the abandoned old car we had read about at 1.8 miles up on the right side of the trail. At 2.3 miles, Panther Creek Trail heads left and crosses Lynn Camp Prong without a bridge. While this might not be too difficult for horses, it would not be wise to attempt to walk across the creek at times of high flows. Around 3.5 miles, the trail crosses Indian Flats Prong on a one-lane bridge without handrails. Beyond this bridge, about 3.8 miles into the hike at the third switchback, we turned right on an unmarked path and walked 500 feet to the base of the upper tier of Indian Flats Falls. From this vantage point, we also had a view over the second tier of the falls as well. We chose not to bushwack down to the lower two tiers. After leaving the falls, we rejoined the trail for the 0.3 mile climb to the trail junction. After arriving at the junction, we hiked back down to the trailhead to complete the 8.4 mile trip.