September Newsletter: Summer Recap
Candalada
Candalada’s Waterfall Tour
In 2019 I was dreaming of a wonderful vacation and hoping to see some of the world’s most popular waterfalls. Covid-19 crushed those dreams and challenged me to think local. While searching online I found an article titled “The Ultimate Virginia Waterfall Road Trip That Will Take You 8 hours.” I was excited at the thought yet discouraged by the energy and time needed to get both Issa and I prepared for such a voyage. This is the map from the original article.
Observations
The Natural Bridge is 3 hours from my house. This automatically added 6 hours to the trip. Three hours to get the starting point and the three hours needed to get home after closing the loop.
Some falls looked more appealing than others. There were 8 stops listed in the article. I narrowed the tour down to 3 stops. The Lace Falls at the Natural Bridge, Roaring Run, and Cascade Falls.
The waterfall addresses listed at the bottom of the article were not accurate. Below are the addresses provided by the article. Lace Falls is in Natural Bridge, VA, 24578 not Bristow, VA (2 hours difference). Cascade Falls in Pembroke,VA 24136, not Bristow, VA (4 hours difference) !
The Plan (Inaccurate Addresses)
Address: Lace Falls Loop, Bristow, VA 20136, USA (stop 1)
Address: Roaring Run, Virginia 24426, USA (stop 2)
Address: Cascade Falls Dr, Bristow, VA 20136, USA (stop 3)
The Actual
I planned to wake up early and arrive to the Natural Bridge by 8 am. I didn’t leave the house until 9 am! Arrived at 11:30 am left at 1:30pm. I typed in Natural Bridge and was there without incident.
Finding Roaring Run was a nightmare listed as Roaring Run, VA 24426 the waterfall is actually located in Eagle Rock, VA 24085.
First we were 38 min out of the way in 24426 due to following the article address. This was my highest point of frustration on the voyage. Driving through the zig zag hills was nauseating. Then we were led to a closed gate trail by GPS (15 min out of the way). I went to google to secure an address from Trip Advisor and was able navigate to Roaring Run road but unable to find the address 450.
Finally a local told us the trail can be easily found searching for the Roaring Run Furnace. Arrived at 3:30pm and left at 5:00pm
Sunset was upon us, I decided that Cascades Falls was too far and revised the plan. Learning lesson from the last major detour. I took to trip advisor to find an address for Falling Spring Falls. It was located on Hot Springs Rd, Covington, VA 24426 which of course was not the address listed on the article. It was 39 minutes away from Roaring Run and a great way to end the trip. Arrived at 6:30pm and left at 7pm.
Starvation was upon us, we visited the Omni Hotel and Resort in Hot Springs, VA. Arrived at 7:40 PM left at 9 PM
Without the massive detours this is what my tour would look like. The map says 8 hours however it took 15-16 hrs total. Getting out to walk, hike, take pictures, film, eat and get lost takes time. Please stay tuned to enjoy my picture story and informal documentation of this journey. I live for videos all this writing is for the readers and detail oriented.
This Candalada’s Ultimate Waterfall Tour took place in mid July. Other falls visited include Great Falls (our first fall viewing) in early July and Cascade Falls in September.
PICTURE STORY
Waterfall tour video footage with Prince Issa
Summary
Great Falls was beautiful and local easy to see with no major hiking required. Lace Falls was small, the Natural Bridge was more interesting. The trail was peaceful and well paved. Roaring run was like a local swimming pool not worth the drive from Woodbridge. Falling Springs was breath taking and required no hike at all. It was my favorite.
Cascade Falls hike is rough and not for kids or rookie hikers. The feeling of getting to it is rewarding. Getting back to the car felt like it took hours, I wanted to shoot a flare gun and get rescued by a helicopter. According to CNN’s list 1o of the best waterfalls across the U.S. only one is in Virginia. The Cascades Falls listed at number 7. I am happy to have made it there.
Blackwater Falls in Davis, West Virginia is listed as number 4. Hopefully I can get there before it gets cold. I have found these voyages to the water helpful in creating a bond with Issa and distracting my mind from sadness. As a girl from Brooklyn the last place I thought I would be is deep in the woods. The nats are annoying. Viewing natures miracles with my own eyes makes the temporary discomfort dissipate. The sound of the water and the mist in the air feels renewing and awakens hope in my heart.