Have you ever had a destination you wanted to go to but just never got around to it? The West Fork of the Pigeon River was one of those destinations for me.

The West Fork is one of those places I have heard very little about, and that made me want to go there all the more. While I will admit I wanted to visit the river with a fishing pole in hand searching for wild Brook and Brown trout, my first visit involved a camera.  The river seems to be entirely rock, from the streambed to the numerous boulders along its course; it also seems to be a very clean river, with very little, if any, silt. The very clear waters of the upper sections of the Pigeon River really highlight the streambed. The rock on both the east and west fork’s headwaters have some unique “striped” colors that grab your attention.

The river is skirted by Hwy. 215 for quite a distance so access to the river is fairly good.

The focal point of our family trip was Sunburst Falls, or that’s the only name I could find for it, located near the Sunburst community. The small fall is located under an old rock arched bridge that was supposedly built in the 1930s.

The unique setting of the fall and the bridge seems like a perfect location for wedding pictures or the like to me. There is no hike involved, just park at the bridge and walk down a steep bank to the base of the fall.

To get there, take Hwy. 64 West from Hendersonville toward Rosman, turn right on Hwy. 215 traveling north. Stay on Hwy. 215 until you cross the Blue Ridge Parkway, travel approximately another four miles and you will cross the old rock bridge. You can park on the left side of the road. You will cross a rock bridge before you get to the one over Sunburst Falls, but keep going. There is a lot of pretty country and water to see in this area. I’ve just scratched the surface.