CEDAR MOUNTAIN, N.C. — Off limits to the public until only a few years ago, the waterfalls at DuPont State Forest reveal their hidden splendor for those willing to hike or bike on steep trails and slippery rocks.

Six waterfalls, from a skyscraper-high cascade to an enormous rock slab with sheets of water, punctuate this 10,400-acre forest halfway between the mountain resort towns of Brevard and Hendersonville.

Jack Horan (ENLARGE)

Jonathan Vess and daughter Sophia of Asheville, N.C., visit High Falls in DuPont State Forest with friend Hyla Johnson.

Photos • Asheville travel guide First-time visitors may want to take the following walks or rides: Hooker Falls/High Falls/Triple Falls. Park at the Hooker Falls Access Area off Staton Road. Hooker Falls is five minutes downstream. Return to the parking lot, cross Staton Road just above the bridge to pick up the 10-minute trail to Triple Falls. High Falls is a 15-minute walk from Triple Falls. High Falls/Lake Dense/Lake Julia. Park at the Buck Forest Access Area on Staton Road and follow the road to the covered bridge, then bear left to pick up the High Falls Trail. Return to the bridge, cross it and follow Conservation Road to the two lakes. About a 3.5-mile round trip. Fawn Lake/Bridal Veil Falls. Park at the Fawn Lake Access Area on Reasonover Road. Follow Fawn Lake Road to Fawn Lake, cut over to Conservation Road, then turn left at Bridal Veil Falls Road to get to the falls. About five miles round trip. North Carolina travel stories A weekend in Charlotte, N.C.  Hospitality reigns at mountain inns  A weekend in N.C.'s Outer Banks  Beyond the beach along Cape Fear  Fly-fishing really does help you go with the flow  Photos: Travel / Southeast Galleries Latest deals! Back to: Travel | Southeast destinations

The granddaddy is High Falls, a thundering 150-foot drop along an inclined rock formation. High Falls spews a chill mist on visitors who, after a 25-minute hike, clamber onto the massive boulders at the base to picnic, sunbathe or chill out.

A 10-minute walk away is Triple Falls, which descends 120 feet in a three-tiered cascade on the Little River, enticing visitors to climb its mammoth walls and swim (illegally) in the pool below the second drop.

Farther downstream, as the Little River passes under a two-lane highway bordering the forest, the river makes one more drop at Hooker Falls. The 14-foot-high curtain of water draws daredevil kayakers, who plunge bow first into the foaming turbulence.

Then there's Bridal Veil Falls, which got a measure of fame for its cameo appearance in the 1992 movie "The Last of the Mohicans," as did the three other falls.

This waterfall haven looks like a state park even though it initially was set aside to demonstrate good forestry practices. Forest rules allow hiking, biking, horse riding, fishing and hunting (in limited areas) but not cars. On warm-weather weekends, the forest becomes a destination for up to 4,000 visitors. They park in six access areas around the forest's perimeter and walk or ride in. Admission is free.

A network of trails, mostly dirt and gravel roads, beckons. "One of the unique things about DuPont Forest is we have over 80 miles of trails," said Gloria Clouse of Brevard, president of Friends of DuPont Forest, a volunteer group. "Most of them are open to bicyclists, hikers, runners, horses."

Five lakes, ranging in size from a pond to 99-acre Lake Julia, are open to bank fishing for bluegills and largemouth bass. Anglers can cast from a few rickety docks at Lake Julia left over from defunct summer camps.

Trout anglers, from October through May, can fish a stocked section of the Little River with artificial lures under catch-and-release rules. Other sections are open to catch-and-keep wild trout fishing.

But forest officials don't offer boat or canoe rentals, don't permit overnight camping and discourage night visitation. Dogs on a leash are allowed.

DuPont State Forest draws its name from the DuPont Corp., which assembled the property over 50 years and made X-ray film at a now-dismantled plant. DuPont employees and guests could marvel at the waterfalls, but not the public.

In 1996, DuPont sold 7,600 undeveloped acres to the state, which designated the acquisition as DuPont State Forest. Remaining was the 400-acre plant site and 2,200 acres surrounding High Falls, Triple Falls and Bridal Veil Falls. A South Carolina developer outbid a conservation group for the 2,200 acres so he could build a gated community overlooking the falls.

Waterfall enthusiasts were outraged and organized to save the falls. In 2000, the state took the land through eminent domain and paid the developer $12 million. The developer sued and in 2003 got another $12 million.

Today, nature prevails. Rare plants such as swamp pink grow here. A few black bears roam among the Eastern hemlocks and white pines. Several years ago I spotted an otter loping along near Lake Julia. One snowy winter day I counted a flock of 35 to 40 wild turkeys just outside the forest boundary.

DuPont Forest lies along the Blue Ridge Escarpment, whose abrupt elevation change of about 1,500 feet between the mountains and the Piedmont creates many of the state's waterfalls.

The forest's liquid assets include not only High Falls, Triple Falls and Hooker Falls but also Bridal Veil, Grassy Creek and Wintergreen falls.

At Bridal Veil, one can stoop under an overhanging ledge and shuffle to the other side as the Little River rushes overhead, as shown in "The Last of the Mohicans." The water then spills down a 750-foot-long rock slab on its way to High Falls.

Jack Horan is outdoors correspondent for The Charlotte Observer and the author of "Where Nature Reigns: The Wilderness Areas of the Southern Appalachians."

• DuPont State Forest is 15 miles east of Brevard and 15 miles west of Hendersonville, N.C. For maps, driving directions, forest rules and nearby accommodations, see www.dupontforest.com. Friends of DuPont Forest will offer shuttle bus rides for $10 a person Oct. 18-19 to High Falls, Triple Falls, Bridal Veil Falls and Lake Julia.