Waterfalls near Cherokee, North Carolina

How the list breaks down

Mingo sits near the Smokies' east entrance, yet the park falls listed here are all in Tennessee. All 13 lie within 50 miles in a straight line: ten falls in North Carolina and three in Tennessee. The table draws only on this guide's own falls pages, so a waterfall without a page here won't appear, however close it is. North Carolina falls outside this circle are on our North Carolina waterfalls guide page.

Check two entries before you set out. Laurel Falls, 21 straight-line miles away, has been closed for a full trail rebuild since January 6, 2025. The Park Service's October 27, 2026 listing anticipates a reopening sometime in 2027. Triple Falls & High Falls, 43 straight-line miles out in DuPont State Recreational Forest, are partly open. Two pieces stay off limits there: the stairs to the base of Triple Falls and the Turkey Knob bridge (N.C. Forest Service, Oct 27, 2026).

Mingo and Soco Falls on the Qualla Boundary

Both falls are on the Qualla Boundary and managed by the EBCI, not by the Forest Service or the Park Service. Visit Cherokee is the EBCI's tourism site and the place to check visitor details. Neither falls page lists posted hours, a swimming rule or a dog rule from the EBCI.

Mingo Falls is a cascade of about 120 ft on Mingo Creek, per Wikipedia and Visit Cherokee. Its lot is off Big Cove Road, past the KOA Campground. Visit Cherokee calls the climb short but physically demanding: roughly a quarter mile each way, most of it 161 steep steps. The EBCI rebuilt the steps and enlarged the deck in 2025. For fewer people, Visit Cherokee passes on the locals' advice to come in the morning.

At Soco Falls, Soco Creek and Brush Creek plunge into a shared pool, per Visit Cherokee. Heights differ: Visit Cherokee says about 120 ft, while ncwaterfalls.com describes a double cascade of about 50 ft. A 2025 EBCI project moved the trailhead away from a blind curve on US-19 and added a lot with accessible spaces (One Feather). The old roadside pullout is now fenced off, ncwaterfalls.com reports.

Access differs between the two. Soco's upper deck is reported accessible, but the trail down to the falls deck is not. Mingo has no accessible route, and Visit Cherokee advises seniors, children and people with disabilities to go with a companion. Wet weather makes both slick, by Visit Cherokee's account. You are a guest on tribal land, so follow posted signs and pack out your trash.

Three Smokies falls, 15 to 34 straight-line miles away in Tennessee

Leaving the Qualla Boundary changes the cost. Mingo and Soco are free, but the park requires a Park It Forward tag for any stop over 15 minutes. Daily tags are $5, weekly $15 and yearly $40, and interagency passes are no substitute. Dogs are banned on all three trails.

Grotto Falls, 15 straight-line miles away, is the closest of the three. The NPS lists it at 25 ft, and the round trip on the Trillium Gap Trail is 2.6 miles. Walking behind the water is what sets Grotto apart; no other falls in the park lets you do that. Cars can use the Roaring Fork Motor Nature Trail, through November 29, 2026. Expect bear activity: NPS posted a warning for Trillium Gap on October 27, 2026.

Laurel Falls is shut for its rebuild, as noted above. Abrams Falls, 34 straight-line miles away in Cades Cove, is a 5-mile round trip to a 25-ft ledge drop. The deep pool below looks inviting, but NPS warns of an undertow and strongly discourages swimming.

Highlands and Cashiers: 29 to 36 straight-line miles south

Dry Falls and Bridal Veil Falls are both 29 straight-line miles south, on US-64 in Nantahala National Forest. You can walk behind each one. Dry Falls has a paved path with stairs, per the Highlands Chamber, and Bridal Veil has an old roadbed closed to cars. Only Dry Falls charges, at $3 per vehicle per day; official sources list nothing for Bridal Veil. Neither is a place to swim.

Glen Falls, 32 straight-line miles out, is three cascades on Glen Falls Trail #8. The Forest Service describes the third falls as having a family-friendly swimming hole, and it calls the areas around the falls very slippery. Whitewater Falls, 36 straight-line miles away near Cashiers, measures 411 ft in its upper falls by the Forest Service and Wikipedia. The upper overlook is a paved stroll of roughly half a mile out and back.

Budget $3 per vehicle at Whitewater, the current rate cited in a 2024 Forest Service plan to charge $5. We could find no final approval of that increase. Whiteside Mountain, Dry Falls and Whitewater share a $15 annual pass.

Pisgah and DuPont: 31 to 43 straight-line miles east and southeast

Three Pisgah National Forest stops line US-276 near Brevard, 31 to 33 straight-line miles from Cherokee. Sliding Rock is a 60-ft natural water slide, and Naventure lists $6 per person, collected in the staffed season. Staffing runs Memorial Day to Labor Day, and with the 2026 season over, neither lifeguards nor open restrooms remain.

Looking Glass Falls is a 60-ft roadside falls by Explore Brevard's figure, with no day-use or parking fee listed. Swimming there is not recommended, since the Forest Service says no lifeguard is on duty. The Forest Service rates the Moore Cove Trail to Moore Cove Falls easy and lists it at 0.7 mile. It does not say if that is one way or round trip.

Triple Falls & High Falls, 43 straight-line miles from Cherokee, are 125 ft each per Wikipedia. Beyond the closed base stairs, a one-day tree-work closure of the High Falls kiosk path was set for Nov 6, 2026, or Nov 10 if rain delayed it.

The N.C. Forest Service lists no fee. Forest rules keep swimmers and waders out of the water for 300 ft upstream of any falls. The waterfall safety guide explains the risks of slick rock and moving water.

Waterfalls near Cherokee: FAQ