Mariaville Waterfalls
Mariaville Waterfalls
This post was originally published June 21, 2018.
Summer is here, the sun is hot, and like every other creature, I am attracted to the water. For this venture, I hiked into the woods along the short trails of Mariaville Waterfalls Preserve in search for cascading falls along the west branch of the Union River. The hike was quiet but for the trilling sounds of nearby birds and the patter of a shirtless fisherman walking barefoot down the trail ahead of me.
The Mariaville Waterfalls are in a remote area. The access road is a dirt drive, I nearly missed while driving down route 181. If I hadn't been walking on one of the hottest days yet this year, there might have been more people on the trails, but I only ran across four people, two of them a couple. However, the trails were teeming with tranquility. The kind you reach for after a long week at work. And even better, I didn't have to walk long before I found the river.
I didn't know what the falls were going to look like before I saw them. All I did know was that they were not waterfalls that fit in the same category as Niagara. After walking beside the river for a little bit and taking a quick detour down one of the offshoot trails to the shore, I looked out at the water rippling over the rocks and thought vaguely: Could this be it?
I was mistaken though, and I quickly realized this when my walking led me to a lonely bench. Perhaps I should preface this by saying I was listening to music. My earbuds were in my ears for the majority of my time on the trails, and it was not until I reached the bench and turned to look down the steep slope, I realized what I was missing.
The falls were in perfect view, the water bouncing off the rocks and up into the sunlight. The birds were loud, singing like a choir over the percussion of the falls. I sat on the bench for a while, until my curiosity outweighed my patience, and I grabbed onto the nearest trees to descend the slope to get to the water's edge.
The river is shallow here. And warm. I ran my fingers across its surface and let the spray cover my arms. I don't remember the last time I was this close to a waterfall, but there's something comforting in its steady rhythm. Maybe it has to do with my innate attraction to water. Maybe it's just nice to be alone and still, while the earth moves around me.
The trail did not end at the falls, and as I continued to follow it, I wondered if there could be anything better waiting at the end. I was taken to a bend in the river, where the water stagnated just long enough to reflect the blue skies and green foliage above it. I could see the rocks under the water, and I watched as the clouds moved over them, until the bugs distorted the images with ripples when they hopped across the surface.
Time and black flies would not allow me to stay there as long as I would have liked, but I suppose it's only fitting. As quickly as the water falls over the rocks, these views are fleeting, and perhaps, more meaningful that way.
Mariaville Waterfalls Video