It is difficult to say what is the highlight of the this trip, the Pink Lady Slippers or the waterfalls. The waterfalls are definitely the attraction for most everyone else. They are always there and easy to find. The Lady Slippers have a few weeks window and almost no one knows where they are.
Our first stop is Hooker Falls. During the Pandemic, Dupont Forest was a very popular place. Parking was overwhelmed and parked cars lined both sides of the road near the major attractions. Now, both sides of the road have plastic fencing and one new parking area for Triple Falls is about ready to open. The main parking area at the visitor center was reconfigured to support more visitors. In my opinion, the park is a big place with lots of hiking and bicycling infrastructure. It can absorb a lot of people. So, increasing parking capacity will not detract from your experience in the forest.
High Falls is a short and easy walk from the visitor center. It is a big drop and the volume of water is significant. It probably is the most visited waterfall here. About 2/3 up from the bottom, there is a tree trying to survive. How it has not gotten washed away is amazing.
We spotted a number of Pink Lady Slippers but nothing like the numbers we saw near Bridal Veil Falls. This area supports hundreds. I was able to count 69 from one spot. That was only counting those in bloom which was probably about 1/3 the total.
On to Bridal Veil Falls, my personal favorite. As a waterfall, it is quite unusual in that it seemingly spreads out over a large rock outcropping, making a 3 sided waterfall. From one vantage point, you can see that there is a initial drop, some backwater and then the spill over the rock outcrop.
You can rock hop to some spots that get you surrounded by cascading water. I've only visited here when there is a large volume of water. I'd like to see it once in dry weather for comparison.
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