The trail goes behind Upper Piney Falls. There is a distinct layer where the sandstone meets the shale. Both of these kinds of rock are sedimentary, meaning they are made from smaller rocks that have been compressed and solidified over time. Sandstone is made of layers of tiny grains of sand. Shale is made solidified mud, it is much more fine-grained than sandstone. It is common to find fossils of Equisetum, an ancient swamp plant related to today's Horsetails, in the shale beneath the falls.

The water from Abrams Creek roars over Cades Sandstone at the top of Abrams Falls.