Waterfalls everywhere !!!!

We started out today on our waterfall adventure. The goal was to travel to Whitewater Falls which is located in the Nantahala National Forest about 13 miles from Cashiers, NC, located off of Hwy 281. Our route from Murphy, NC, took us through Franklin, Highlands and Cashiers, NC. Whitewater Falls is considered to be 411 feet tall and the highest waterfall in the eastern U.S. At the parking lot there are very beautiful views of the distant mountains. You proceed up a paved walkway to an overlook vantage point of the falls, about .2 mile. After arriving at the overlook vantage point you can then proceed down a wooden stairway consisting of about 154 steps to another vantage point. There is a steep mountain trail that continues down the mountain to the base of the falls, but we didn't attempt this trail. After leaving the parking lot there is an overlook that you can stop at where the view is of a mountain lake and distant mountain vistas.










On our way back to Cashiers via Hwy 107, we stopped at Silver Run Falls, a very beautiful falls with about a 30 foot drop. The fall is located down a trail and across a small wooden bridge about 250 yards from the parking space on the side of the road. This is a very flat trail and takes very little time to get to the falls. It is well worth the short walk to view this falls.





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After leaving Silver Run Falls we headed to Hurricane Falls,which is located on private property about 1.8 miles north on Hwy 107 past Cashiers. This falls was fairly hard to view even during this time when the trees had not put on their leaves. Since the falls is located on private property and next to the owners home we viewed the falls from the roadway opposite the falls. I imagine the property owners had a great view of the falls because their house was perched right next to the falls and had large windows facing the falls. The falls flows into Lake Glenville, a man made lake.

At this point we decided some food would be in order. The place we decided to eat at was Cornucopia located in Cashiers, NC. It was the site of a previous general store built in the 1800's. The restaurant also had an open air seating area. The menu was pretty extensive and I had a half rack of ribs, with fries and cole slaw. My companion had a pulled pork sandwich with fries and cole slaw. The prices were very reasonable, about $13 for the half rack of ribs. Service was excellent and the food was served very quickly. The food was excellent and the cole slaw was vinegar based and had a somewhat sweet taste. I would highly recommend stopping in here for food, but it appeared their hours were from 11am to 2 pm, so you may want to call ahead.










After a brief stop in Highlands, NC, at Buck's Coffee Shop and looking around at the various shops in downtown Highlands, we headed back to Murphy via Franklin, NC.

On the way from Highlands via Hwy 64 are three waterfalls, each with great views. In fact, Bridal Vail Falls can be driven under now that they have removed the large bolder that used to block the roadway underneath the falls. The falls is about 60 feet in height.













Proceeding down Hwy 64 you come to Dry Falls, which has a very nice parking lot and a new overlook built for viewing of the falls. The new overlook can be accessed from the parking lot without even hiking down the trail to the falls. If you do hike down the falls you can walk underneath the falls and go across to the other side of the falls. As you pass underneath the falls, you will get some overspray on you due to the mist from the waterfall. In the summer this can be very pleasant. This is a very stunning waterfall, which is about 80 feet in height. A large volume of water was flowing from this falls, probably due to the large amount of rain that had been occurring over the winter months. I would highly recommend a stop at this falls.

The road traveling to Franklin from Highlands via Hwy 64 is extremely curvy and you can only travel about 10 to 20 mph. It is an awesome road, but don't get in a hurry.


The next stop on Hwy 64 was in the Cullasaja Gorge at a waterfall called Cullasaja Falls. The height of this falls is about 250 feet and is spectacular. To view the falls you must stop on a very small edge of pavement, off of the road just around a curve. While it might not be the safest place to stop, it is the best and only place to view the waterfall from. On previous occasions, I have hiked down the hillside to the bottom of the falls, but it is a very difficult climb out.









After a successful and beautiful day of viewing waterfalls we returned to our cabin. The weather had been great all day for hiking to the falls and viewing them.