Top 10 Waterfalls near Asheville's Blue Ridge Mountains

Readers of the popular online travel guide, RomanticAsheville.com, recently voted on what they consider to be the top 10 waterfalls in the Blue Ridge Mountains of North Carolina. Here's how the respondents voted:

1. Sliding Rock: Each summer, thousands of children and adults slip and slide down this favorite natural, 60-foot cascade down a sloping boulder in the Pisgah National Forest.

2. DuPont State Forest: A three-mile easy hike takes you to the base of three waterfalls: Hooker, Triple and the 150-foot High Falls.

3. Looking Glass Falls: One of the most visited waterfalls in North Carolina, it's located along U.S. 276 north of Brevard, near the Blue Ridge Parkway. You don't even have to get out of your car to see the 60-foot waterfall.

4. Graveyard Fields: This popular hiking area on the Blue Ridge Parkway features a loop trail that takes you to two waterfalls on the Yellowstone Prong. Second Falls is just 1/3 mile from the parking area.

5. Rainbow Falls: This spectacular 150-foot waterfall is located in the Nantahala National Forest. Access via a new hiking trail from Gorges State Park. A little up Horsepasture River, slide and swim at Turtleback Falls.

6. Linville Falls: Located on the Blue Ridge Parkway, Erwins View Trail is a moderate hike of 1.6 miles round trip with four overlooks, each revealing a different aspect of the Falls and Linville Gorge.

7. Upper Whitewater Falls: This is the highest waterfall east of the Rockies, plunging 411 feet and viewable via a short paved trail.

8. Hickory Nut Falls: This 404-foot waterfall at Chimney Rock Park was featured in the movie The Last of the Mohicans. Hickory Nut Falls is a perfect example of what geologists call a "hanging valley."

9. Crabtree Falls: This beautiful 70-foot waterfall, near Linville Falls, is accessed by a 2.5-mile loop hiking trail from the Blue Ridge Parkway.

10. Glen Falls: Near Highlands is this beautiful setting in the Nantahala National Forest, with two separate 70-foot drops on a 1.5-mile roundtrip hike. While in the Highlands area, walk behind Dry Falls or drive behind Bridal Veil Falls.

For more details on these waterfalls, plus others, as well as a few videos, please click here.


Jeff
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