Explore the Waterfalls of North Carolina

The state of North Carolina is home to hundreds, if not thousands, of beautiful waterfalls, located mostly in its mountainous western area. And although many different natural attractions can be found in the Southern Applachian Mountain region, waterfalls have without a doubt become one of North Carolina's most treasured outdoor resources.

Find a Waterfall

There are several ways to find a waterfall on this site:

Map

Our interactive map. This is what most people who visit this site use to find a waterfall.

List

The list, which is an index of all the waterfalls we know of, including pictures for easy identification.

Search

Search for it, if you already know the name of the waterfall you're looking for.

Once you find it, each waterfall has its own page with all the detailed information - a photo, descriptions, directions, and trail information where available.

About This Site

NorthCarolinaWaterfalls.info is your online guide for comprehensive information about waterfalls in North Carolina. We give you pictures, statistics, maps, directions, and links to other sites to help you find your favorite waterfall. Using this information, come explore some of the most beautiful features nature has to offer!

Although we have a large number of waterfalls on the site already, we're continuously adding new waterfalls as we explore them, and improving the information on ones we've visited. Updates and trip reports can be found in the news section below. Enjoy!

Site Updates and Waterfall News

Crabtree Falls Trail Open, but Campground to Remain Closed

Posted on March 15, 2013 10:34 pm

Due to the 5% decrease in the Park Service’s budget this year, the Crabtree Falls campground will remain closed throughout the 2013 season. This is in addition to several other closures along the road, and the cancellation of all of the Park’s normal seasonal interpretive programs. The Balsam Mountain campground,  Read more »

Forest Service Trail Strategy Document Completed

Posted on February 13, 2013 1:29 pm

The US Forest Service has released the draft final Non-Motorized Trail Strategy document, which is available on their web site for review. The final Trail Strategy collaborative meeting for Pisgah is to be held tomorrow, Thursday Feb. 14, 6:00-8:00 p.m., at the UNCA Sherrill Center, Mountain View Conference Room in Asheville. Agency employees  Read more »

Forest Service Closes Shining Rock to Camping

Posted on October 17, 2012 12:36 pm

The National Forests in NC just announced a camping ban, until further notice, in the Shining Rock Wilderness and Graveyard Fields areas, due to bear activity (trying to get food inside campers’ tents). The news release is below: Date(s): Oct 17, 2012 Pisgah Forest, N.C. — The U.S. Forest Service  Read more »

Dry Falls Reopens Saturday

Posted on September 20, 2012 7:30 pm

The Forest Service has announced that Dry Falls, along US 64 near Highlands, NC will reopen Saturday, September 22. The area has been closed since April while the trail leading behind the falls was rehabbed Just in time for the busy fall color season! Image attribution: Wikipedia user Zhans33

Chimney Rock State Park Map

Posted on September 11, 2012 11:16 am

After a great hike there in the cooler weather on Sunday, we’ve added a GPS map of Chimney Rock State Park, including the Hickory Nut Falls hike. We only have a few more maps to make before we have them for all the Best Hikes on the site. Keep watching  Read more »

Interview for the Smoky Mountain News

Posted on July 1, 2010.

I was recently interviewed by Elizabeth Jensen of the Smoky Mountain News for an article about waterfalls in Western NC! Read the article to see the plug for this site, quotes from myself and other great local waterfall "Gurus" such as Kevin Adams and Rich Stevenson, and a neat interactive waterfalls map!

Links, Plugs, and Inspiration

No research on the waterfalls in North Carolina would be complete without at least looking at these other venerable sources of information.

North Carolina Waterfalls Book

First, buy a copy of Kevin Adams' book "North Carolina Waterfalls: A Hiking and Photography Guide" online (or in local bookstores). It's the most comprehensive and updated one out there.

NCWaterfalls.com

Next, check out Rich Stevenson's web site ncwaterfalls.com, the most comprehensive on the Internet.

Other Books and Links

Have a book, map, or web site regarding NC's waterfalls? Contact us to let us know and we'll add your link here!

Many thanks to these and other waterfall enthusiasts who have pointed us in the right direction all those times when we were out doing "field research".

Get and Share Information

All of our information is available for free via a Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 License! What this means is that you may copy and share this information in any way you like, without having to ask. Just be sure to give credit back to NorthCarolinaWaterfalls.info!

Waterfalls can be accessed by a "permalink" URL in the following format:
http://www.northcarolinawaterfalls.info/waterfall/[ID]/[waterfall_name]
where [ID] is the waterfall's numeric ID and [name] is the name of the waterfall, separated by underscores (_).

Please be sure to report any errors, omissions, or comments you might have by contacting us. We hope you enjoy!