Your Ultimate Guide to the Cascades Preserve

Escape the pace of the Triad and find a distinctive rocky-creek landscape right in Guilford County, NC, at the Cascades Preserve. Located just outside Kernersville and Oak Ridge, this 130-acre protected hardwood forest offers a genuinely rare landscape combination for the NC Piedmont — anchored by rocky creeks with cascading water flow that give the preserve its name.

The preserve is a formal partnership between Guilford County and the Town of Oak Ridge, with permanent protection ensuring the 130 acres will never be developed. The well-maintained trail system winds through mixed young pine and mature hardwood forests, with three trails offering distinctly different experiences — the signature Falling Waters Trail (central spine of the network), the Headwaters Trail (a Mountains-to-Sea Trail segment along the Haw River headwaters), and the Keyauwee Trail (a shorter add-on named for the pre-colonial Keyauwee Native American tribe).

While the “cascades” are more accurately a series of gentle tumbles than thundering waterfalls, the sound of the rocky creek water flow and the preserved woodland atmosphere make the preserve a genuinely different Piedmont outdoor recreation experience — especially after rainfall, when the creeks are at their most visually and audibly distinctive.

The images below are clickable, allowing you to view more pictures and a YouTube video of each trail. We also have a quick list view available in a table format if that is more your style. Happy adventuring!

Falling Waters Trail
Headwaters Trail
Keyauwee Trail
Final Thoughts

Falling Waters Trail

🌳 The Falling Waters Trail is located at Cascades Preserve in Guilford County, NC.

📏 This is a 1.53-mile loop trail marked by White Diamond blazes.

🕸️ Falling Waters serves as the central spine of the Cascades Preserve trail network — both of the preserve’s other trails feed off of it.

💦 The trail’s highlight is the cascading water flow over rocks along the creeks, especially notable after rainfall.

🌳 Hikers walk through a mix of young pines, towering oaks, and abundant ferns along the way.

🚶‍♂️ The trail is rated moderate due to some roots and mild elevation gains.

➕ The trail can be extended by connecting to the Keyauwee Trail (0.5-mile loop) for a figure-eight hike, or by adding the Headwaters Trail (2.2-mile out-and-back).

🍂 The trail is especially notable in the fall when the hardwood forest colors are at their peak.

🚗 Parking is available on Goodwill Church Road across from the preserve.

⚠️ Be sure to watch out for roots while hiking!

Headwaters Trail

🥾 This is a 2.2-mile out-and-back trail marked by Blue Circle blazes.

🥾 The trail is rated moderate — though with minimal elevation gain, making it accessible for hikers of most skill levels.

🏞️ The trail is part of the Mountains-to-Sea Trail — NC’s premier long-distance trail running over 1,175 miles from Clingmans Dome to Jockey’s Ridge State Park on the Outer Banks.

🌊 The trail is named for its location along the headwaters of the Haw River.

🌿 Hikers walk through a mix of wooded terrain and wetland areas, which is distinctive from the more creek-focused Falling Waters Trail.

🐦 Wildlife sightings can include deer and various songbird species.

🚗 There are two parking options — a small gravel parking lot on Linville Road for direct access, or the standard preserve parking on Goodwill Church Road (which requires a portion of the Falling Waters Trail as an approach).

🦟 It’s advisable to wear sturdy shoes and use bug spray, as there may be muddy patches and spider webs.

💧 For additional variety, consider adding the Falling Waters Trail to see the cascades, especially after rainfall.

Keyauwee Trail

🚶‍♂️ This is a 0.5-mile loop trail marked by Red Diamond blazes.

🌲 The trail is part of the 130-acre Cascades Preserve.

🥾 Both ends of the Keyauwee Trail loop connect back to the Falling Waters Trail, creating a natural figure-eight hiking option.

🏞 The trail is named after the Keyauwee — a Siouan-speaking Native American tribe whose traditional homeland included the NC Piedmont region (Guilford, Randolph, and Alamance counties) until the early 1700s.

🌳 The trail winds up a gentle ridge through a hardwood forest of towering oaks and ferns.

🌿 Underfoot, hikers walk on soft paths covered in pine needles — a distinctive tactile experience.

🌊 Occasional creek views from the ridge add to the trail’s scenery.

⚖️ The trail is rated moderate due to roots and rocks along the path.

⏱ The Keyauwee Trail alone takes under an hour, making it an ideal short add-on to a Falling Waters Trail visit.

🔄 Combining Keyauwee with the Falling Waters Trail creates a natural figure-eight hike — approximately 2 miles total covering rocky creek terrain, hardwood ridge, and pine-needle paths.

Final Thoughts

Cascades Preserve stands out among the greater Piedmont Triad’s outdoor recreation destinations for the sheer distinctiveness of its rocky creek landscape and the depth of its three-trail network within a modest 130 acres. Between the Falling Waters Trail’s cascading water features, the Headwaters Trail’s Mountains-to-Sea Trail connection and Haw River headwaters, and the Keyauwee Trail’s pre-colonial Native American cultural context, the preserve offers a genuinely rare depth of experience for a suburban Piedmont natural area.

For visitors planning their first visit to Cascades Preserve, we’d recommend starting with the Falling Waters Trail as the network’s central spine — the 1.53-mile loop features the preserve’s namesake cascading creek and connects to both other trails. From there, hikers can extend the visit based on their interest and available time — adding the Keyauwee Trail for a natural figure-eight (~2 miles total) or the Headwaters Trail for a longer 2.2-mile out-and-back that connects to the broader Mountains-to-Sea Trail network.

Timing matters for the best Cascades Preserve experience. Visit after rainfall for the most distinctive cascade water flow along the Falling Waters Trail creeks, or in the fall when the hardwood forest colors are at their peak. Wear sturdy shoes and watch for tree roots across the paths — and if you’re hiking the Headwaters Trail, bring bug spray for the wetland sections.

Finally, remember that Cascades Preserve is a formal partnership between Guilford County and the Town of Oak Ridge — protected in perpetuity from development. That kind of intentional multi-entity conservation model is genuinely rare in the American Southeast, and visitors’ continued support (through visits, sharing, and civic engagement) helps sustain the preserve’s role in the region’s protected natural landscape infrastructure for decades to come.

Happy adventuring — and if you want to explore more of what makes Kernersville and the broader Forsyth County region distinctive, check out our full Cascades Preserve main sub-page and the broader Kernersville attractions cluster.