About this spot
Moonshine Falls is a 40-foot cascade in the Mountain Bridge Wilderness near Cleveland, SC, reached via the roughly 3-mile Asbury Trail through Asbury Hills Camp property. The creek drops into a wide, shallow pool below a cave once used to hide Prohibition-era moonshine stills — old barrel remnants are still visible, and hikers can walk behind the falls into the cave. The pool is a well-known local swimming hole, popular with hikers cooling off after the hike in. Access requires a gate code from Asbury Hills Camp (call ahead, business hours only), and the trail is closed to hikers during the camp's summer season, roughly May 15 through August 15. Rocks around the pool and cave floor are slick; wear real shoes and expect crowds on weekends when the gate is open.