We slept in a little today, took our time getting out of bed, the weather was a little iffy today so we decided to lay low until around 10am when we made our way to the pool for family swim time. The kids had a blast swimming in the shallow indoor pool which was just a tad cool for my liking. Robin and i were able to convince the kids to try the hot tube, but unfortunately it too, was a bit cool. We hung out for about an hour before returning to our room where we got dressed for the day. It was lunch time so we decided to check out the lounge for something to eat. We got a nice spot at a window that looked out over the bay. We shared a pizza which was delish while the kids enjoyed their meals. After lunch we decided to try out another hike. We headed back to Moran State Park to check out some waterfalls.

     Just beyond Cascade Lake we found the turn off for Mount Constitution Road and went left, uphill. A short ways up the road we found the well marked trailhead for Cascade Falls. We pulled into the small parking lot where we found maybe 5 other cars.  It was trying to rain on us so we put on the rain gear before loading up and hitting the trail. We picked up the muddy path heading down and to the right, and in just a few feet discovered Rustic Falls. We took the steep trail down to the creekside to enjoy the falls up close and personal, the kids got a kick out of it. What kid doesn’t like waterfalls? We dallied for a while letting the kids play in the creek before getting back on the main trail which continued downstream along the creek. It didn’t take long for us to stumble across Cascade Falls, we continued left and down a number of stairs to an impressive view of the 60 foot falls from below. We crossed a bridge and continued downstream to a bend in the creek where we took a nice break.

     The creek is set in a lush grove of old trees and moss covered boulders with no shortage of good green scenery completely surrounding us, it felt good for the soul. After the break we packed up and continued on down the trail to its end at a junction with another trail and our turnaround point. We backtracked to Rustic Falls where we continued on the trail upstream along Cascade Creek, the trail climbed a short ways to Cavern Falls where we paused briefly, the view was a bit limited so it wasn’t quite as impressive as the falls downstream. Shortly beyond the falls the trail ended at an old road that we continued to follow. The trail climbed a little and in a short ways offered a limited view of an old concrete bridge over a stunning little creek with some of the mossiest rocks i had ever seen, it begged for off trail exploring so Jameson and I went for it making our way to the base of the falls and the jaw dropping view above, what a great find!

     Back on the trail we continued up and eventually found the trail junction for Mountain Lake, this is as far as we would go. We paused at a bridge over the creek and listened to the thunderous roar of Hidden Falls, and as the name suggests isn’t visible from the trail as the falls disappears into a narrow gorge below the bridge. We made our way back to the trailhead sticking to the old road, making a loop of the hike. The kids did awesome on the short 2 mile trek, which offered a lot for such a short hike. Back in the car we continued up the summit road with hopes of views at the top, but to our disappointment we were socked in. After our excursion we returned to the hotel where we eventually ate dinner in the lounge while Kylie provided the entertainment as she spent the night flirting with the man whose gig it was to sing tonight, good times and a great way to top off a short getaway. For more pictures click the link. Cascade Falls Hike