Hooker Falls is a 10-foot block waterfall on the Little River in DuPont State Recreational Forest, Transylvania County, North Carolina. It is the last and smallest of the Little River's falls in the forest, a broad ledge dropping into a wide pool that draws swimmers in summer, and it served as the canoe-scene waterfall in The Last of the Mohicans.
The falls
The river spills across its full width in a single vertical drop into a pool below. Lidar data puts the drop at about 10 feet, while older records listed 14 feet and other local figures give 12. Some descriptions note a block drop with a cascade, in two steps. Hooker Falls sits downstream of Triple Falls and High Falls on the same river.
Getting there
The N.C. Forest Service names the Hooker Falls Access Area as the most convenient parking for the falls. From the lot, the Hooker Falls Trail runs roughly a quarter mile to the falls; it is one of only three trails in the forest closed to bikes and horses. The lot has flush restrooms and changing rooms.
DuPont is open daily from 5 a.m. to 10 p.m. and charges no fee. Trail closure updates from June 2026 include the Triple Falls stairs upstream but not Hooker Falls or its trail.
When to go
July, August and October are the forest's busiest months, and in summer the lots are often full by 9:30 a.m. Lighter crowds are found November through April and Tuesday through Thursday, particularly when arriving before 9 a.m. or after 4 p.m.
On site
Visitors view the falls from two viewpoints: one from above the falls and one from across the pool. The pool provides a summer swimming and wading spot, though non-swimmers are advised to stay out because the water is unpredictable. Forest rules prohibit climbing on rocks or waterfalls, jumping, diving or sliding off them, and swimming or wading above them. Dogs must be leashed. There are no trash cans and campfires aren't allowed, and cell service is missing in parts of the forest.
History and name
The falls take their name from Edmund Hooker, who ran a mill below them in the late 1800s; before that they were called Mill Shoals Falls. Film productions in the area have also included The Hunger Games.
Nearby
Triple Falls, upstream on the Little River, is about 0.4 mile away, Minnehaha Falls about 0.8 mile, Grassy Falls about 0.9 mile and Bridal Veil Falls, farther upstream, about 1.7 miles. The town of Brevard is about 6.6 miles away.
Distances are straight-line.