While spending some time in the small town of Minden, West Virginia, I did a lot of backpacking through the backcountry to explore the great outdoors and watch wildlife; similar to my experiences while exploring the hiking trails in Kauai, Hawaii.  

Of the many things I stumbled across during the time of juvenile exploration was a small, secret waterfall.  Low and behold, it wasn’t easy to get to but my efforts certainly paid off!

How to find the Secret Waterfall | West Virginia

One day, I decided to leave my campsite and cut straight through the woods where there was not a trail to see what I could find and, before you knew it, I discovered a secret waterfall that was likely to have never been seen before.

Located about a mile or so back, to get to the secret waterfall I followed up a small creek that gradually got bigger and bigger.

There were absolutely no trails leading to the falls nor were there visible signs of human interference anywhere…quite odd nowadays to find a place like this that hasn’t been traveled to regularly.  For all I knew it was not even marked on the map!  Here’s to those secret places that you travel to…those off-the-beaten-path locations where you can find a jewel in the midst of our chaotic society right in your back yard.

Have you ever gone hiking off the beaten path and found a secret gem while backpacking?