Late Fall Hike to Hone Quarry Waterfalls

The out-and-back hike up to the Hone Quarry Falls will take you just approximately 2.5 miles up a mountain, yielding some pretty glimpses of the ridges of mountains on the other side of a small gorge/valley to a pleasant falls area, an ideal area, had we timed it right, for a picnic listening to the sound of the waterfalls.

The trail is fairly lightly trafficked, so it’s unlikely you’ll encounter other hikers, although we did see other vehicles parked in the parking area. It’s partially shaded, so in the summer it’s likely to be hot. On a cool November day, we enjoyed soaking up the sun.

My go-to guide for hikes, alltrails.com, indicates the trail is 4.7 miles, but my own tracking device (even accounting for our extra half-mile added) plus other hikers’ recordings all indicate that the hike is slightly over 5 miles.

As you start hiking up the mountain, you follow the old quarry road and in fact, most of the hike is along that old road.

During the warmer months you’ll see a lot of wildflowers along the old road. A few still lingered despite the nighttime cold temperatures.

The last half mile of the hike before the falls is off a side trail from the old quarry road, and that turn off is easy to miss — we did, and for that, we hiked an extra quarter mile up the mountainside along that old road. Thanks to alltrails.com, we realized our mistake and found the turn — a right turn if you’re ascending the mountain — to the trail to the falls.

There’s a small post indicating the foot trail off the old quarry road labeled 428A. You’ll have already passed by 428B.

A little ways in — maybe 1/4 of a mile?? — you’ll see a sign indicating the Slate Spring Trail, on the left and heading up the mountainside. To the right, the Hone Quarry Falls Trail continues as you cross a small stream.

As we descended back down the old quarry road, we stood to the side of the road and watched in envy as a rugged jeep passed us — not a road we’d try with our Rav4. Yeah, that. Jeep envy. It’s a thing.
hike up the mountain — just over 500 feet in 2.5 miles.

We are dressed for success in our reflective finest during the first day of muzzle-loading deer hunting season, although we didn’t hear any shots and were probably very safe.