Marble Fork Text

Marble Fork

Turn your back on the crowds and open your arms to one of the finest swimming rivers in the state. As many as one dozen pools and holes are connected by creamy waterfalls stacked one on top of the other like a gargantuan wedding cake. The best part is you get a stunning overview of all the falls shortly before turning down the descent.
The tallest is about 60 feet high and lies roughly in the middle of the wedding cake. Upstream are four excellent holes, a couple of which require some third class scrambling to reach. The first is a broad, 25-foot-tall torrent from which you can jump into a 12-foot-deep bowl of water. Some of the slabs are well situated for relaxation. Ditto the next pool. The left side is all low-angle slabs optimally aligned for summer repose. The pool is not as deep as the first and it has few jumps, but at 80 feet long it’s twice as large. Above that are two more pools, the uppermost with abundant fuscias growing around it.
The river faces southwest and a tall north-south ridge means best sun is noon to 3 p.m. Water quality is good, but sphincter shutting cold. Lots of plant glop, but that together with the overgrown and lightly compacted trail suggests few people swim here. Privacy is just about guaranteed.