Pearson's Falls — Local services in Columbus

My boyfriend and I visited at 4:30pm on March 1st. The man at the gate gave us a brochure with the hours that stated the entry gate closed at 5:00pm but the area closed at 6:00pm (these are spring-fall hours starting March 1st). The sign at the gate also reflected these same hours. We don’t usually pay to see places like this since there are so many beautiful waterfalls in the area, but we thought it was worth it to support the botanical society that maintains the trail (it’s $5 per person to enter). We even asked the guy at the gate if we had time to visit since it was relatively close to closing, and he assured us it was no problem.

The trail was well marked, easy to walk, and we were able to get close to the waterfall. Honestly no complaints until we went to leave.

We got back to our car at 5:45 with the previous knowledge that we had until 6:00 to get off the property. We were met by a VERY unfriendly guy who stated that “we were late and had to leave NOW”. He took a very rude tone with us as we walked back to our car. We apologized and stated that the brochure said it was open until 6:00, to which he replied that “it was dark out and he lives on the property so we had to leave now”. He didn’t care what to official hours were, and he wanted us to leave at that very moment even though we paid to be there. One, it wasn’t dark at all, it was about 45 minutes to sunset, and two, if he lived on the property, he should have more patience for people paying to be there to support the property. He followed us back to our car continuing to berate us about how we had to leave and how late we were getting back. He finally went back into his house that was across from the kiosk at the entry gate. We were left with a horrible feeling following a nice visit to the waterfall.

I caution against anyone visiting this waterfall close to closing hours as you may be escorted back to your car before closing simply because the property owners want to go home (and their home is literally a couple feet from the entrance gate). They’re rude and will leave you feeling like you had a terrible time even though the waterfall itself is beautiful.

If the property owners don’t want people there past 5:30pm, then they should change their hours of operation to reflect that. We will not be making a...

This is a beautiful waterfall, beautiful trail. I cannot give it 5 stars because: it is NOT as easy a trail as the description says. I think it is much longer than 1/4 mile, seemed 1/2 mile to the falls, all of the trail going there was uphill and had to watch my feet continually so not to trip over roots. My hiking companion decided not to continue after 5 minutes of fairly strenuous hiking uphill and he was right. My July visit was very shady, great because it was very hot otherwise. The only people that made it to the waterfalls besides me was 2 Buddhist monks who were great additions to my photos, giving scale to photo of the high falls. Kudos to the garden club who takes such great care of this beautiful spot. Having a restroom there was just great. Second caution: there are actually 2 ways to drive to the falls parking lot--get directions to the one where you do NOT have to go through a one lane tunnel which is accessed via several miles on a gravel road. The best road is much shorter with good signage. Google Maps is not much help but stopping in Saluda we got better directions. Pearson Falls Rd is a loop and the best entrance is the one farthest away from Saluda (but visit Saluda--great...

Amazing waterfall and a very enjoyable hike to go along with it. It's a private, locally owned/family owned business and tourist attraction. The main waterfall is over 90 feet tall. Also, there are other spots to view the creek and other waterfalls along the trail other than just the main falls area. The staff is friendly and welcoming. They do not all pets and visitors are not allowed to get into the water or onto the rocks at any point. It's a minimal per guest to park with a children ticket price for those 12 and under as well as an adult price for everyone else. The overall hike, the views, the trails, and the whole experience are definitely worthwhile. Plenty of benches and picnic tables for resting and any food breaks as needed. I highly recommend this place to anyone in the area...