Having learned a lot about the Cherokee in the area at the Jocassee Gorges Visitors Center at Keowee-Toxaway State Park, we hopped back on Highway 11 towards Walhalla and turned off at Oconee Station. The two major draws to the park are the 60-foot-tall Station Cove Falls and the two historic buildings on the property. We got to experience both of these on this beautiful spring day.
We first stopped at the Station Cove trailhead parking area. Bunny decided to stay in the car while us four Beavers set off down the trail. From the trailhead, it’s a 3/4-mile hike to the falls. You follow a stream at times, so it’s mostly flat with a few roots to look out for. We saw so many butterflies, including SC’s state butterfly, the eastern tiger swallowtail, which is yellow with some black. I didn’t get a great picture of it, but I did get a picture of the red-spotted purple, which, you know, is black and blue, because obvious.
Sometimes when we’ve been hiking, the girls will play hide and seek (I’m thinking about our time at Barnwell and Givhans Ferry). But this time, the girls were imitating a game that Teagan had found on Roblox. In this game, you try to sneak up on a sleeping granny and steal her cookies. Upon stealing them, the grandma will wake up and chase after you, yelling, ‘Gimme back those cookies!’ So, Teagan sped ahead on the trail with Sage bringing up the rear asking Teagan to give her back those cookies. Strangers that we passed were highly amused. 🙂
The falls themselves were beautiful. The official site notes that there are several species of endangered plant life here. Teagan noted that it was like being in a tropical rainforest. I remember a beautiful dragonfly flying by and a cute little moth that alighted on some of our stuff. The girls both loved getting up close to the falls, not minding that the water was quite cool!
We reunited with Bunny and went right across the road to the historical buildings. The stone building dates to the late 18th century, and the brick residence is from the early 19th century. The first building was originally intended to serve a military garrison who protected the settlers from the Cherokee. The brick building next door served as a trading post to settlers. The nearby interpretive sign noted that the owner of the building was obviously more well-off economically, as bricks would have cost significantly more than the traditional logs used for most buildings at the time. The stone building was locked, but we could walk in the brick building. I imagine the stories those walls could tell.
The girls also had a good time at the ranger station, where they had a television set up with some videos about the park and what life would have been like at the turn of the 19th century. Bunny also got some great pictures of the girls as they stood around (and changed clothes after getting wet from the falls). Can you tell they’re related?
After leaving the park, Tiffany and I continued our Cherokee education at the Museum of the Cherokee in downtown Walhalla. There are some great exhibits there with some interesting artifacts there. I’d definitely recommend it to anyone in the area. We all also got some ice cream at Mountain Mocha.
It was a great day around Oconee County, learning a lot about the cultural history and seeing a lot of natural beauty. There’s so much that this county has to offer, so go check it out if you’re in the area!
Below are other pics of our time in the afternoon. Click below for full-sized!
Beavers in the Park 