21+ Waterfalls near Asheville that are Bucket List Worthy

Asheville is one of the most STUNNING destinations in the Blue Ridge Mountains. And it’s surrounded by some of the best waterfalls in the East. TLC clearly never made it to Asheville. Even they would want to chase waterfalls here.

And after living here for almost two years, we’ve done our fair share of exploring. So we’ve put together our list of our absolute favorite waterfalls.

Some are close to Asheville, others need a bit of a drive. Some take five minutes to reach, others make it earn it with a longer hike. Pick your adventure and see for yourself why these falls are worth chasing.

Crabtree Falls

• Trail Length: 2.2 miles out and back
• Elevation Gain: 541 ft.
• Difficulty: moderate
• Distance from Asheville: 1 hr. 20 mins.
• Good for swimming? No

Crabtree Falls was one of our favorite waterfalls that we’ve ever been to. We hiked to the falls for my birthday in December, which gives you an idea of how huge this waterfall is year-round. The water coming off the 70-foot drop was still roaring, even in the off-season.

At only 2.2 miles round-trip, the hike to the base of the falls is on the easier side. But there are A LOT of stairs. The hike starts downhill and slowly descends to the falls. Remember, you have to climb back up each stair you go down.

The trail to Crabtree Falls is pretty remote, so make a day of your travels and stop in nearby Little Switzerland and Emerald Village to mine for gems.

Linville Falls

• Trail Length: up to 1.9 miles
• Elevation Gain: 354 ft.
• Difficulty: easy
• Distance from Asheville: 1 hr. 9 mins.
• Good for swimming? No (in fact, it’s illegal)

Linville Falls is also one of our favorite waterfalls of all time. It’s an easier trail, but there are several different overlooks, so you can pick your own adventure.

This trail to visit all three overlooks is 1.9 miles round-trip. We highly recommend this trail (if you’re able) since it offers the best view of Linville Falls.

This trail is only 0.9 miles and 82 feet of elevation gain to view the falls from upstream. This is the shortest option to see the falls, but it doesn’t give you the same “wow” view as the other trails.

This trail takes you to the bottom of Plunge Basin to the base of the waterfall. You can’t swim in this area; however, the perspective of seeing the falls from below is pretty cool.

Rainbow Falls, Turtleback Falls, & Drift Falls

• Trail Length: 3.9 miles
• Elevation Gain: 770 ft.
• Difficulty: moderate
• Distance from Asheville: 1 hr. 14 mins.
• Good for swimming? Yes

Gorges State Park is one of the most underrated North Carolina parks. It has great facilities and a super nice campground.

The hike to Rainbow Falls, Turtleback Falls, and Drift Falls is only 3.9 miles round-trip. This means you get to see THREE AWESOME waterfalls in one short hike. You can swim at the base of Rainbow Falls and Turtleback Falls – both flow into deep pools that are perfect for swimming.

And as you can see from the picture above, the fall colors in the park were INSANE. Just remember that you hike downhill first, so converse energy and water for the hike back out.

While you’re in the area, visit nearby Upper Whitewater Falls. It’s only 15 mins away and it’s the tallest waterfall west of the Mississippi.

Sliding Rock

• Trail Length: <0.3 miles
• Elevation Gain: 19 ft.
• Difficulty: super easy
• Distance from Asheville: 49 mins.
• Good for swimming? YES

Sliding Rock isn’t technically a waterfall, but it is a 60-foot natural slide that flows into an 8-foot deep pool. We visited on a cool fall day and slid into the chilly water like a cold plunge. (Yes, even with the flows this low, the rocks were slippery enough to slide down!).

But in the summer months, Sliding Rock becomes quite the destination! Between Memorial Day and Labor Day (10am-6pm), there are lifeguards on duty and change rooms. This makes sliding safer (and warmer), but it also means there’s a fee to enter. And it can get BUSY.

Visit their page on Facebook for updates on closures.

Looking Glass Falls

• Trail Length: less than 0.3 miles
• Elevation Gain: 36 ft.
• Difficulty: easy (but there are stairs)
• Distance from Asheville: 44 mins.
• Good for swimming? Kinda

Looking Glass Falls is SUPER close to Sliding Rock (see above), so it’s worth visiting both in one trip. This 60-foot waterfall can be seen from the road, but we recommend walking down the stairs in order to appreciate its full beauty.

People were swimming at the base of the falls and wading in the nearby shallows, but Looking Glass Falls is super busy and the pool is small, so it’s not ideal for swimming.

While you’re in the area, you could also hike to nearby Moore Cove Falls.

Catawba Falls

• Trail Length: 2.1 miles
• Elevation Gain: 308 ft.
• Difficulty: easy
• Distance from Asheville: 30 minutes
• Good for swimming? Yes

Catawba Falls (pronounced kah-taw-buh) was closed for the entire time we lived in Asheville, so we were never able to visit this awesome waterfall. But now it’s mostly open (even after Hurricane Helene), and it’s 200% worth the visit.

The cascading waterfall adds up to over 100 feet tall, and the new viewing platforms make it even easier to soak in the sight of the entire waterfall.

Grassy Creek Falls, High Falls, Triple Falls, and Hooker Falls (Dupont State Park)

• Trail Length: 0.8-5.8 miles
• Elevation Gain: 137-807 ft.
• Difficulty: easy to moderate
• Distance from Asheville: 48 mins.
• Good for swimming? No

DuPont State Recreational Forest is one of the best outdoor spaces that’s a must-see in the Asheville area. I bet it’s one of the highest concentrations of waterfalls, and it quickly became one of our favorite places.

One of the best parts is that you can hike something super short to only one waterfall or hike upwards of six miles and visit four separate waterfalls.

Take this trail to Hooker Falls for 0.8 miles and 137 ft. of elevation gain.

This trail goes to the main falls of Triple Falls and High Falls with 2.3 miles and 308 ft. of elevation gain.

Add on Grassy Creek Falls to hit all four waterfalls. This means 5.8 miles and 807 ft. of elevation gain.

Dry Falls

• Trail Length: <0.2 miles
• Elevation Gain: 49 ft.
• Difficulty: easy
• Distance from Asheville: 1 hr. 33 mins.
• Good for swimming? No

Dry Falls is one of the coolest roadside waterfalls in the country. The walk to the falls is so short that I wouldn’t consider it a hike at all. It’s just a short walk down some stairs, then you can venture beneath this stunning waterfall. That being said, the most difficult part of this waterfall is getting into the small parking area.

Try your best to visit at a weird time of day or in the off-season (or maybe the luck of the parking spot will be on your side more than it was for us). Also, bring $3 cash for the parking fee.

Cullasaja Falls

• Trail Length: 0.1 miles
• Elevation Gain: 49 ft.
• Difficulty: moderate
• Distance from Asheville: 1 hr. 23 mins.
• Good for swimming? No

Cullasaja Falls is close to Dry Falls (see above), and it can also be seen from the roadside. However, there isn’t an established parking area, and it’s free to visit. The walk down to the base of the falls is SUPER steep, so do it at your own risk.

Also, stop at nearby Quarry Falls (4 minutes away from Cullasaja), a roadside cascading waterfall. In fact, we visited Quarry Falls, Cullasaja Falls, Dry Falls, and Gorges State Park in one awesome day trip around North Carolina.

Hickory Nut Falls

• Trail Length: 1.9 miles
• Elevation Gain: 328 ft.
• Difficulty: moderately easy
• Distance from Asheville: 58 minutes
• Good for swimming? No

Chimney Rock State Park is one of the best state parks in the United States, but unfortunately, the town was SEVERELY affected by Hurricane Helene in 2024.

The park reopened in June of 2025, so check current conditions on their Instagram page.

If you have the chance to visit, we highly recommend hiking to Hickory Nut Falls and taking the elevator up to Chimney Rock.

Graveyard Fields Loop Trail

• Trail Length: 1.3 miles
• Elevation Gain: 173 ft.
• Difficulty: moderately easy
• Distance from Asheville: 57 mins.
• Good for swimming? Not really

Graveyard Fields is one of the best stops on the Blue Ridge Parkway and rightfully so—I mean, look at those fall colors! There are two waterfalls: Graveyard Fields Upper and Lower Falls.

Lower Falls is at the base of the stairs near the parking lot toilet. It’s about 0.6 miles and 124 feet of elevation loss to the overlook. Graveyard Fields Upper Falls requires a bit more – 3.2 miles and 413 feet of elevation gain.

Daniel Ridge Loop Trail

• Trail Length: 4.6 miles
• Elevation Gain: 810 feet
• Difficulty: moderate
• Distance from Asheville: 59 minutes
• Good for swimming? No

Rocky Fork State Park is located in Tennessee, just over the border from North Carolina. It’s only about 45 minutes from downtown Asheville, but it feels like a whole different world. The forest there is SO GREEN. And the trail follows a small river with sporadic deep holes that are perfect for swimming.

There’s also a swimming hole in the park called Blue Hole, which is marked with a sign off of Rocky Fork Road. Even though there’s not technically a waterfall in this park, there are so many cascades in the river, and it’s such a great swimming place, that we had to include it on our list.

This park quickly became one of our favorite places in the Asheville area.

Wright Creek Falls (Lake Jocassee)

Even though this waterfall isn’t even in North Carolina, we HAD to include it on this list. It’s easily one of the coolest and most unique waterfalls on the East Coast, and it’s 100% worth the visit.

Devil’s Fork State Park is about 1.5 hours from Asheville and is home to Lake Jocassee, one of the most beautiful lakes in the East. You’ll need to either bring a boat or rent a boat to reach one of the several waterfalls that flow directly into the lake.

We only went to Wright Creek Falls, but there’s also Mill Creek Falls and Laurel Falls, all of which are only accessible by boat. Plus, the lake water is a beautiful color and is super clean—perfect for swimming!