Waterfalls in North Carolina

Overview of waterfalls in North Carolina

Some are short walks from the road, like Looking Glass Falls and Dry Falls. Others, like Catawba Falls, are real hikes. Each page below lists the fee, parking, trail length and swimming rule from the managing agency.

Western North Carolina waterfall areas by town

The North Carolina falls on this site cluster in the areas below. Cherokee has its own section after this one.

Brevard and Pisgah National Forest (US-276). Looking Glass Falls and Sliding Rock sit a short drive apart on the Forest Heritage Scenic Byway north of Brevard. Moore Cove Falls, one mile north of Looking Glass Falls, is at the end of the easy 0.7-mile Moore Cove Trail, per the Forest Service. Visit NC, the state tourism site, calls the Brevard area the 'Land of Waterfalls' and says it is home to more than 250 waterfalls.

Highlands and the Cullasaja Gorge (US-64). Dry Falls and roadside Bridal Veil Falls are part of a chain of falls on the Cullasaja River between Highlands and Franklin. Glen Falls, southwest of town, is a hike to three separate falls that the Highlands Chamber rates moderate.

DuPont State Recreational Forest. Triple Falls and High Falls on the Little River draw more than 700,000 hikers a year, according to the NC Forest Service. DuPont has its own, different Bridal Veil Falls. As of Oct 2026, Triple Falls is partly open: the trail is open, but the stairs to the base are closed.

Old Fort and the Grandfather Ranger District. Catawba Falls, east of Asheville just off I-40, has a rebuilt trail with about 580 stairs to the upper falls.

Linville Gorge and the Blue Ridge Parkway. Linville Falls at Parkway milepost 316 has NPS trails to overlooks. Erwins View Trail is 1.6 miles round trip and rated moderate, and Plunge Basin Trail is 1 mile round trip and rated strenuous. The NPS says swimming in the Linville River and climbing on its rocks is dangerous and not allowed. As of Oct 2026, Linville Falls is only partly open.

Crabtree Falls and the Parkway near Little Switzerland. Crabtree Falls is between Parkway mileposts 339 and 341, and it is closed to hiking. On Nov 3, 2026, the NPS road status page said "Hiking is PROHIBITED at Crabtree Falls due to Helene related damage." The picnic area is open and the campground is closed. NPS calls the 60-foot falls the tallest single waterfall along the Blue Ridge Parkway.

Elk Park and Avery County. Elk River Falls, known locally as Big Falls, drops 65 feet in Pisgah National Forest, per the Forest Service. A rocky 0.5-mile walkway leads from the Elk Park parking lot in about 15 minutes. The Forest Service calls it one of the deadliest scenic attractions in Avery County and tells visitors to stay out of the water.

Cashiers and the Whitewater River. Upper Whitewater Falls drops 411 feet in Nantahala National Forest. The Forest Service says a paved, wheelchair-accessible walkway leads to the upper overlook, and 154 wooden steps go down to a lower one.

Chimney Rock State Park. Hickory Nut Falls drops 404 feet, per NC Parks and the attraction's operator. NC Parks lists the Hickory Nut Falls Trail as 0.7 mile one way and moderate. The trail is inside the ticketed Chimney Rock attraction, which reopened on June 27, 2025, after Hurricane Helene.

South Mountains State Park. High Shoals Falls, an 80-foot falls on the Jacob Fork, is closed. On Nov 4, 2026, NC Parks said "The entirety of High Shoals Falls Trail is closed." It added that waterfall viewing areas remain closed due to continued hazards. The rest of the park is open, with no day-use fee.

Waterfalls near Cherokee

Mingo Falls and Soco Falls are on Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians (EBCI) land, the Qualla Boundary, not national forest or park land. Both are free and open as of Oct 2026, per Visit Cherokee, and the EBCI rebuilt both sites in 2025.

Mingo drops about 120 feet. Visit Cherokee says the route is about a quarter mile each way, mostly 161 steep steps up to a viewing bridge. Its lot is off Big Cove Road, about 5 miles from downtown Cherokee, per Visit Cherokee.

Soco, where two creeks meet, is a short walk from a new EBCI lot with accessible spaces on US-19, between Cherokee and Maggie Valley.

Waterfalls near Asheville

Catawba Falls is about 25 miles from downtown Asheville, per Explore Asheville. Catawba Falls is off I-40 at Old Fort, and the Forest Service lists a 3.5-mile loop.

Explore Asheville puts Sliding Rock about a 45- to 50-minute drive from Asheville. The Forest Service route there passes Looking Glass Falls on US-276 north of Brevard. Triple Falls is in DuPont State Recreational Forest, near Cedar Mountain and Brevard.

Hickory Nut Falls is in Chimney Rock State Park. You need a ticket to the Chimney Rock attraction to reach the trail.

North Carolina waterfalls you can see without a hike

Six falls in this guide need little or no hiking. Looking Glass Falls has a roadside deck on US-276, and its top viewing deck is accessible. Bridal Veil Falls in the Cullasaja Gorge, not the DuPont falls of the same name, is beside the old US-64 loop near Highlands.

Dry Falls is about 0.2 mile on a paved path, with an accessible walkway to an overlook. The path behind the falls has stairs. Soco Falls is a short trail from a lot with accessible parking.

At Whitewater Falls, a paved walkway of about 0.5 mile round trip reaches the upper overlook; it is accessible but not level. Sliding Rock is a short walk from its lot.

Tallest waterfalls on this site

Upper Whitewater Falls is the tallest of the falls in this guide, at 411 feet, per the Forest Service. The Forest Service calls it the highest waterfall east of the Rockies. Visit NC calls it the highest waterfall in the Eastern United States.

Hickory Nut Falls in Chimney Rock State Park comes next, at 404 feet, per NC Parks and the attraction's operator.

Heights for the other falls are on their own pages.

Fees and passes

Fees range from none at Looking Glass, Mingo and Soco Falls to a $17 adult ticket at Chimney Rock, home of Hickory Nut Falls.

Hickory Nut Falls Trail is inside the fee-based Chimney Rock attraction. As listed on Nov 7, 2026, a 1-day ticket is $17 per adult and $8 for ages 5 to 15. Children 4 and under are free. Chimney Rock Management, LLC sets the prices, which change seasonally.

Dry Falls charges $3 per vehicle per day, and a $15 annual pass also covers Whiteside Mountain and Whitewater Falls. Sliding Rock charges $6 per person in its staffed summer season. Dry Falls fees can be paid ahead on Recreation.gov, which helps because the Forest Service says cell service there is spotty.

At Whitewater Falls, the latest official figure we found is $3 per vehicle per day or a $15 annual pass. The $3 figure comes from the Forest Service's 2024 fee proposal, which would raise the fees to $5 a day and $30 a year. We found no final approval, so check Recreation.gov before you go.

Mingo Falls and Soco Falls are free, according to Visit Cherokee, and the NPS pages for Linville Falls mention no fee. NC Parks charges no day-use fee at South Mountains State Park, and the Forest Service lists no fee at Elk River Falls.

Hurricane Helene recovery

Hurricane Helene in September 2024 still affects parts of the region. As of Nov 3, 2026, the NPS lists the Blue Ridge Parkway closed from milepost 344.2 to 355.3, between NC-80 and Mount Mitchell State Park. All recreation is prohibited in that stretch. Check the Parkway's road status page before a mountain trip.

Two falls in this guide remain closed after Helene. At South Mountains State Park, NC Parks said on Nov 4, 2026 that the entire High Shoals Falls Trail and the waterfall viewing areas are closed. On the Parkway, the NPS road status page of Nov 3, 2026 says "Hiking is PROHIBITED at Crabtree Falls due to Helene related damage." Neither agency has set a reopening date.

Linville Falls is only partly open. Helene destroyed the visitor center, and the campground and picnic area are still closed. The NPS listed the Parkway and the spur road at milepost 316.4 open on October 27, 2026. WHKY reported on October 25, 2026 that the Plunge Basin Trail had recently reopened. An NPS trails table from February 2026 lists the Linville Gorge Trail to the river as closed.

At DuPont, the Triple Falls Trail reopened on May 21, 2025. The NC Forest Service closures page (updated October 27, 2026) lists the stairs to the base of Triple Falls and the Turkey Knob bridge as closed. Tree work was set to close the High Falls kiosk path for a day on Nov 6, 2026, with Nov 10 as the rain date.

Mingo and Soco Falls closed in 2025 for construction, not storm damage, and we found no Helene closure notice for Whitewater Falls.

Some storm closures have ended. The Chimney Rock attraction around Hickory Nut Falls reopened on June 27, 2025. The Forest Service reopened Elk River Falls on July 11, 2025. WataugaOnline reported a later reopening on May 22, 2026, after more debris removal.

When to visit North Carolina waterfalls

Our pages for Looking Glass, Catawba and Dry Falls note that flow is strongest in spring and after heavy rain. Discover Jackson NC names October, the peak color month, as the busiest at Whitewater Falls. The Forest Service reports very heavy midday crowds at Dry Falls and suggests mornings or evenings. The Forest Service also warns that rocks at Dry Falls can be coated in ice that doesn't look icy, so in winter stay on built paths and stairs.

At Chimney Rock, the operator recommends reservations on busy weekends and holidays, including weekends in October through early November. It also says Hickory Nut Falls can freeze from top to bottom after a cold snap.

North Carolina waterfalls FAQ