Asheville Area Hiking Trails

Here @ WNCTIMES we love sharing popular hiking trails! Share your favorite trails with us so we can pass it along to other hikers! 

We found a site, Asheville Trails that gives great infromation about area trails and provides maps for you to find your way!

Waterfalls near Asheville

Hike to the most popular, most beautiful and most scenic waterfalls near Asheville on our top ten favorite trails in western NC.

 
The rolling, mountainous terrain near Asheville, NC is simply gorgeous. Tree-covered mountain summits and grassy balds fill the horizon, and deep cut river valleys and gorges slice through the landscape, spilling and tumbling and diving in scores of majestic waterfalls.

When a river meets towering rock, something seemingly magical happens, as water drops and spills into a pool below. Waterfalls are simply beautiful. They’re strikingly photo-worthy. And those tumbling tendrils of water somehow stir remarkable emotion in the soul.

In Asheville’s mountainous and river-filled terrain, these tumbling marvels are plentiful: there’s no shortage of great hikes to be found near the city. We’ve hiked many, exploring the area’s towering and thundering falls to gentle cascades set in a stunningly beautiful forest. With so many amazing falls, it’s tough to choose just ten, but we’ve carefully hand-picked our favorites, all under a two-hour drive from the Asheville area. (Short on time, or looking for a great kid-friendly hike? Check out our favorite Asheville waterfall hikes under two miles.)

Pack a picnic and hit the road: it’s time to chase some beautiful cascades.

Waterfalls near Asheville: our favorite hikes

Rainbow Falls
3.9 MILES, ROUND TRIP
Rainbow Falls is a stunner, tumbling down over a towering, 150-foot cliff in a single, dramatic drop. Hike this trail from Gorges State Park near Cashiers, NC to a series of spilling falls on the Horsepasture River and abundant summertime wildflowers.
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Schoolhouse Falls
2.6 MILES, ROUND TRIP
Filled with sheer-walled mountain summits, deep-carved valleys and tumbling waterfalls, Panthertown Valley is often referred to as the ‘Yosemite of the East’. Hike this scenic adventure to Panthertown’s most popular falls, descending from Cold Mountain Gap into a valley filled with lush rhododendron. The hike visits Schoolhouse Falls, catching views from a shallow pebble-lined basin just below the falls.
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Catawba Falls
2.7 MILES, ROUND TRIP
Our favorite waterfall hike near Asheville crosses several shallow river fords and treks through a shady valley to a century-old hydroelectric dam and several exceptionally beautiful falls set in a mossy, rocky forest.
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Bridal Veil Falls
4.6 MILES, ROUND TRIP
This outstanding hike at DuPont State Forest visits an enormous cascade deep within the park, scoring some serenity at one of DuPont’s lesser-visited (but ultra-beautiful) falls. Hike across a covered bridge over the towering High Falls, visit the banks of the glassy Lake Julia, and then view the unique drops, veils and tendrils of Bridal Veil Falls from a viewing platform and the blocky outcrops at the base of the falls.
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Crabtree Falls
2.7 MILES, ROUND TRIP
Hike a moderate loop just off the Blue Ridge Parkway to the towering cascades of Crabtree Falls. The trail explores a lush forest filled with wildflowers, rhododendron and mountain laurel, loops to the Upper Crabtree Falls and trails beside a rocky creek.
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Linville Falls
2.2 MILES, ROUND TRIP
The Linville River makes a dramatic entrance into Linville Gorge, spilling down through a steep-walled rocky wonderland in a multi-tiered cascade. Hike the Linville Falls Trail to three overlooks of the falls, or the nearby Plunge Basin Trail to an up-close view of the waterfall on the gorge floor.
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DuPont State Forest Three Waterfalls Hike
4.5 MILES, ROUND TRIP
Hike to three incredibly beautiful cascades in less than five miles on this ultra-scenic adventure. This three-trail combo at DuPont State Forest explores three of Western NC’s most beautiful and popular cascades: Triple Falls, High Falls, and Hooker Falls.
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To view full website https://ashevilletrails.com/waterfalls-near-asheville-nc/