We're looking for waterfalls in the tri-state area of North Carolina, South Carolina and Georgia.

We will be visiting family in Greenville, SC and love to go to waterfalls. We don't mind short hikes but we will have a 1 year old with us so we don't want the hikes to be to long or to hard.

Utahtea

You have been so helpful to us and others about visiting UT/AZ that I was intrigued by this question. Although I have no personal experience in ths area, I went to Google and typed in "waterfalls" + "North Carolina" and, among others, got a site called visitwaterfalls.com - apparently there is some place in NC with lots of waterfalls. I imagine you might get some ofther info if you substituted the other states. Hope someone is more personally helpful than I can be, but it is a start.

Utahtea, there is a waterfall at the end of the easiest hike at Chimney Rock outside Asheville, NC. Actually, Chimney Rock is on the Greenville, SC side of Asheville off I-26 probably 40 minutes from Greenville.

There are falls at Lake Keowee right outside Greenville but I don't know how to tell you to get there. Something like "The Glassy Falls at Keowee" or some such. Sorry I'm not better help!

Where is haunted head? He should know this info.

In the western tip of North Carolina suggest you take US64 from Highlands to Cashiers. There are 12 falls in this small area. On the NC/SC border is Whitewater falls. Try these websites www.mountaintravelguide.com and www.alleneasler.com/lowerwhite.html. An excellent book with couple of hundred falls in it is North Carolina Waterfalls by Kevin Adams.

I found this web site listing some waterfalls, descriptions, and directions to them:

<http://www.cs.unca.edu/nfsnc/recreat...s/welcome.htm>

Sliding Rock Falls is close to the Blue Ridge Parkway, near Mount Pisgah, and I believe it is a state park. They have a visitor center there with changing rooms, and in the summer there are life guards stationed there. It is a very popular place to swim, and, as the name implies, slide down the waterfall (really a rock waterslide) into the pool below. I took my kids there several times when they were younger, and we had a lot of fun sliding and swimming. Obviously, a one-year-old is too young to do this, but there is a viewing area at the base of the falls, and it's fun to watch all of the people sliding down, and their expressions when they emerge from that COLD water in the pool at the base - then head back for more!

We also visited Linville Falls, right on the Parkway, many years ago. I think that the trail from the parking area was about a mile - I can't recall how strenous it was, but my kids were about 6 and 9 at the time, and they managed fine,

Enjoy your trip; the mountains in that area are quite beautiful, although very different from the ones out west that you are used to! If you get a chance to drive a portion of the Blue Ridge Parkway, you'll see some really lovely spots.

Where is this haunted head, you ask? At work at the moment, babysitting by proxy since the parents appear to have locked them out of their room and won't let them back in until they can name all the state capitals or something. Or perhaps they just don't like their children, which is understandable because these are four of the most obnoxious little monsters I've ever had the displeasure of dealing with.

Or maybe I just need a raise.

Anyhow, let's now talk of more pleasant things, such as waterfalls. After a glance through the brochures in the lobby bin, here's what I've come up with.

Transylvania County -- the "Land of Waterfalls" and for good reason. There are over 250 of them, all over the county, in numerous state and national forests like Dupont State Forest, Gorges State Park, and Pisgah National Forest. According to their brochure, www.visitwaterfalls.com is Transylvania County's waterfall website, but they can also be contacted at 1-800-648-4523.

Pearson's Falls -- This is a single waterfall in Saluda, NC in Polk County. Maintained by the Tryon Garden Club, it costs two dollars to visit the nature preserve where this waterfall is located, but it's worth it. This is one of the better falls in the area and the trails through the preserve aren't difficult at all. There are are also some interesting rock formations in the preserve as well, like the Francis Lightner Ledge, where water trickles over a half-buried boulder that looks a bit like a gigantic peach pit.

Chimney Rock Park -- This private nature park is home to the 402-ft-tall Hickory Nut Falls, which isn't terribly hard to access. Plus, on the way to the village of Chimney Rock, where you can then access the park, you'll drive through Hickory Nut Gorge along the banks of the Rocky Broad River, a gorgeous whitewater river tumbling over and around boulders the size of cars.

Short and Easy Waterfall Tours and Hikes of Western North Carolina -- Offers guided tours of area waterfalls, including some of those in Transylvania County. You can find out more info at www.waterfalltours.com and at 1-800-684-1101. One person here on Fodors went on a waterfall tour with this comapany and had a bad experience, but others have mentioned to me here at my hotel that they had a wonderful time. I guess it's hit of miss, but some research ought to help you decide if it would be worth it.

Hope all that helped!

I just knew you would come through haunted!

Thanks, GoTravel! I try.

WOW, thank you everyone. You've given me a lot to look into!

We've been to visit our DS and DIL in SC two years ago in May and really enjoyed our time there. We went to a few waterfalls and Whitewater Falls in NC was one of them and it was so BEAUTIFUL there!

Utahtea

If you go to www.gastateparks.org look up Amicalola state park.
It is located near Dawsonville, Ga.
My Grandmother took me there years ago, and I was amazed that these falls were in Ga.
The website says the falls are 729 feet.
Might be worth some investigation.

There is a book " North Carolina Waterfalls: Where to Find Them, How to Photograph Them" by Kevin Adams. It's $13.27 new from Amazon. Amazing work. I've recommended it here before.

I think it lists every waterfall in North Caorlina with the difficulting getting to the fall, the beauty ranking and photographic info (like f-stops and the such), and suggested routes to take.

It was the best guide I could find when I was taking a waterfall tour a few years back.

Also check with Transylvania County tourism -- they put out a pamphlet on the county's waterfalls. It might even be online.

Hi Utahtea - thanks for the help you gave me planning my Park City trip last summer.

A couple of favorites:

Dupont State forest between Hendersonville and Brevard, NC: this is where Last of the Mohicans was filmed. Triple Falls and High Falls are easily accessed by a short walk on gravel roads. (I had the park service open them for me so I could drive my 95 yr old grandmother straight up to the viewing platforms...it was cool) There is another falls I have forgotten the name of that is a bit farther walk, I think, very interesting though, because it is not a steep falls, but a place where the river falls gradually over exposed rock that you can walk on along the side of the falls. Maps are available at the park that will tell you exact distances.

Twin Falls in Pisgah Forest. Two beautiful, delicate sidebyside streams of water. About a two mile flat-ish hike in from the gravel road that passes the horse stables in the forest. You might want to buy a map at the ranger station you will pass just before that road.

You can use your map again just up the road at Daniel Ridge trail of Forest Road 475A from the fish hatchery. A very easy gravel path takes you to a pretty falls.

In the same area is a falls (I'm bad w/ names) just off the main road (276) that has a viewing platform. Also as SAra mentioned, there is sliding rock and it's true...the best part is spotting the people with dry hair and then watching the expressions on their faces when they come up from sliding into that pool the first time.

I live in the northern part of Greenville county, the parking areas for each of the falls are no more than an hour drive from my house.

Also, Oconee county, to the west of Greenville is known for its falls, but I'm not very familiar with the area.

Thank you everyone...more places to look into! It's fun being on the receiving end of information for a change

pharlap, We stopped at Amicalola Falls to eat lunch two years ago when we were traveling back home. I just wish we had enought time to hike to the base of the falls. We will next time we get over there!

Utahtea

I can't say enough great things about Cashiers, NC. I love it there. The first thing they do at the Chamber of Commerce, if you could call it that, is hand you a typed single sheet of paper listing all the falls (go to the gravel clearing just past the point where the road curves .78 mile past the intersection...). You might call and ask them to fax the sheet to you, or maybe they would email it to you. Most impressive was Bust-your-butt-falls which entailed going down a tremendous fall either on your butt or on an inner tube -- I chose neither but my son gracefully manuevered his way down the rocks with the family jewels intact. The one-year-old will need some assistance on some of these falls, but most are mild. A few have swimming holes. Some of the falls are actually drive-bys. And I would think the one-year-old could be latched onto your back with a carrier.

In north Georgia, I guess it's Ruby Falls that's the draw -- but I recall another impressive falls that entailed quite a hike. I think the name was Anna Ruby Falls, near Dahlonaga and Rome.

Don't know about any falls in SC. Have a great time. Cashiers is one of the few areas of the country that has terrific weather in August. It is very pleasant, even cool at night. But the food is awful, nothing worth eating IMHO.

I second the recommendation for the Kevin Adams book. I took a photography trip to that area a few years ago. In the Cashiers/Brevard area, falls you should definitely try to see are Whitewater (the large Last of the Mohicans location - very short walk from parking lot), Rainbow and Turtleback (15 minute walk), Looking Glass (right beside the road), and Dry Falls (right beside the road - you can walk under the falls). Linville Falls is a popular spot north of Asheville. I have photos of a few falls on my Web site: www.oneeyed.homestead.com/Waterfalls.html.

I second Dry Falls. One of my favorites and lord knows I've been to alot. Located between Franklin and Highlands on 64. There is a parking lot and a short paved walk to the falls which you can walk behind, thus "Dry Falls", but I've gotten wet before! There is a request for a small fee at the entrance that you put in an envelope. Nearby is Cullasaja Falls, a roaring, spectacular fall. Unfortunately not easily accessible. You can view from road, but there are just a few places to pull over off the road. The road itself between Franklin and Highlands is a beautiful drive. Also nearby is Bridal Veil Falls, a small waterfall you can drive behind. A side note: Don't know how much traveling you'll be doing in the 3 state area but if you want to experience some good southern cooking, I recommend The Dillard House in Dillard, Ga. in the northeast corner of Georgia. Good food and atmosphere. After meal sit in the rocking chairs outside and relax. Welcome Utahtea!

Oh yeah, I forgot about Cullasaja Falls. Smokyboy is right about parking for that one. It can be tight, so be careful parking and walking around near the road. I barely had room to set up a tripod on the roadside.