Waterfalls of the Blue Ridge: A Guide to the Natural Wonders of the Blue Ridge Mountains

by Johnny Molloy

Overview

Discover the Best Waterfalls in North Carolina and Virginia

Waterfalls are nature’s most captivating wonders. These hidden spectacles seem to hold all the secrets of the forest. The hills of the Blue Ridge harbor an incredible number of waterfalls. Hundreds of named falls—and perhaps thousands more—wait to be discovered any time of year.

In Waterfalls of the Blue Ridge, expert hiker and veteran outdoors writer Johnny Molloy guides you to more than 140 of the region’s best waterfalls, ranging from 10 to 500 feet high. Some require no hike at all, while others can only be seen from the trail. When you add hiking to a waterfall, you double your pleasure. Most trails in this book could stand alone, but they are even better when combined with the chance to visit a waterfall.

Covering the mountainous region along the Blue Ridge Parkway, Waterfalls of the Blue Ridge takes you into two states, three national parks, three wilderness areas, four national forests, eight state parks, and more! The waterfalls are grouped together by location and appear in geographic order, north to south.

The full-color guide provides the information you need to choose which waterfalls to visit. Take a quick look at the hiking distance and the level of difficulty. Then read the hike description, so you know what to expect. Maps, driving directions, and GPS trailhead coordinates help you get there, and professional photographs offer glimpses of the beauty that you’ll encounter on the trail.

Waterfall hiking in the mountains of the Blue Ridge is a marvelous way to experience the great outdoors. With this guide as your reference, you can seek out a different waterfall every time or hike to your favorite falls, time and again.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781634043298
Publisher:	Menasha Ridge Press
Publication date:	04/06/2021
Edition description:	5th Revised ed.
Pages:	240
Sales rank:	629,015
Product dimensions:	5.90(w) x 8.90(h) x 0.80(d)

About the Author

Johnny Molloy is a writer and adventurer based in Johnson City, Tennessee. His outdoor passion was ignited on a backpacking trip in Great Smoky Mountains National Park while he was attending the University of Tennessee. That first foray unleashed a love of the outdoors that led Johnny to spend over 4,500 nights backpacking, canoe camping, and tent camping over the past three decades. Friends enjoyed his outdoor adventure stories; one even suggested he write a book. He pursued his friend’s idea and soon parlayed his love of the outdoors into an occupation. The results of his efforts are over 75 books and guides. His writings include hiking guidebooks, camping guidebooks, paddling guidebooks, comprehensive guidebooks about a specific area, and books about true outdoor adventures throughout the eastern United States. Though primarily involved with book publications, Johnny writes for varied magazines and websites. He continues writing and traveling extensively throughout the United States, pursuing a variety of outdoor endeavors. Johnny is a Gideon and an active member of the First Presbyterian Church in Johnson City. His non-outdoor interests include reading, ancient and American history, and University of Tennessee sports.

Read an Excerpt

OVERALL RUN FALLS and TWIN FALLS
[6.8-mile out-and-back, strenuous]

Overall Run is Shenandoah’s highest falls. The cataract is complemented with a grand vista—and a warm-up fall along the way. Start with a pleasant mountaintop stroll on the Appalachian Trail, and wend your way down the slopes of Hogback Mountain, crossing many flats. Pass wide Twin Falls, and then come to Big Falls. From a rocky precipice, you can see the nearby cataract and a whole lot more in the distance.

From the parking area, join the Appalachian Trail and head south. Gently climb through lovely fern-carpeted woodland, passing a few rock outcrops. At 0.4 mile, turn right onto the Tuscarora–Overall Run Trail. Stroll downward. Rock and wood erosion bars cross the trail and form steps. Make a couple of switchbacks before coming to another trail junction at 1.1 miles. Here, meet a connector to the Traces Nature Trail. You aren’t far from Mathews Arm Campground, a fine base camp to explore the falls of Shenandoah.

Turn right, staying on the Tuscarora–Overall Run Trail. Stairstep down Hogback Mountain. At 1.6 miles, hop over uppermost Overall Run. This trickling branch increases hope that a waterfall awaits at the end of this thus far dry hike. The adjacent high-elevation flats seem to attract bears, which we’ve seen multiple times around this area.

At 2.9 miles, the trail intersects Mathews Arm Trail. Keep right. Walk just a short distance and come to another concrete signpost. Here, pass the now abandoned section of Mathews Arm Trail. At this point you may be wondering where the falls are getting their water. The Tuscarora–Overall Run Trail answers the question, and turns left toward Overall Run on wood and earth steps. Reach the first cataract, Twin Falls, at 3.1 miles. A side trail leads left to Twin Falls and a rock outcrop where you can view it. Overall Run is split by a large boulder, forcing the water to divide, resulting in two streams dropping 29 feet.

Keep astride the canyon, passing through laurel–oak woods. Tempting outcrops lure you to the edge of the valley. Come to a wide-open cliff at 3.4 miles. The world opens beyond. To your left Big Falls tumbles 93 feet over a huge rock face into the gorge below. More rock forms a wall on the far side of the falls. The Overall Run canyon plunges below. It’s a long way down there! The canyon maw divulges Page Valley and Massanutten Mountain in the backdrop. In the distance you can see West Virginia and the Alleghenies... a great waterfall and a great view.

DIRECTIONS The hike starts at the parking area just south of the Hogback Mountain Overlook, milepost 21.1 on Skyline Drive. To reach the trailhead from the Thornton Gap entrance station, take Skyline Drive north for 10.4 miles to the parking area on the west side of Skyline Drive, just before Hogback Mountain Overlook.

GPS TRAILHEAD COORDINATES N38° 45.617' W78° 16.994'

Table of Contents

List of Maps

Acknowledgments

Preface

Introduction

SECTION ONE The Basics of Blue Ridge Waterfalls

SECTION TWO Virginia Waterfalls

• Shenandoah National Park
• Overall Run Falls and Twin Falls
• Piney River Falls
• Hazel Falls
• Waterfalls of Whiteoak Canyon
• Cedar Run Falls
• Dark Hollow Falls and Rose River Falls
• Lewis Spring Falls
• South River Falls
• Upper Doyles River Falls, Lower Doyles River Falls, and Jones Run Falls
• Big Branch Falls
• Waynesboro
• White Rock Falls
• Saint Mary’s Waterfall
• Crabtree Falls
• Wigwam Falls
• Glasgow
• Staton’s Falls
• Panther Falls
• Lace Falls
• Apple Orchard Falls
• Fallingwater Cascades
• Alleghany Highlands
• Stony Run Falls and Blue Suck Falls
• Falling Spring Falls
• Roaring Run Falls
• Southwest Virginia
• Cascade Falls
• Falls of Dismal
• Comers Creek Falls
• Chestnut Creek Falls

SECTION THREE North Carolina Waterfalls


• Hanging Rock State Park
• Upper Cascades
• Lower Cascades
• Hidden Falls and Window Falls
• Tory’s Den Falls
• Stone Mountain State Park
• Stone Mountain Falls
• Middle Falls and Lower Falls
• Widow’s Creek Falls
• Blowing Rock
• Cascades
• Elk Falls
• Waterfalls on the Glen Burney Trail
• Boone Fork Falls
• Linville
• Hunt Fish Falls
• North Harper Falls
• Falls of Harper Creek
• Linville Falls
• Duggers Creek Falls
• Marion
• Crabtree Falls
• Toms Creek Falls
• Roaring Fork Falls
• Setrock Creek Falls
• Hickory Branch Falls
• Catawba Falls
• High Shoals Falls and Upper Falls
• Little River Falls
• Asheville
• Douglas Falls and Cascade Falls
• Glassmine Falls
• Hickory Nut Falls
• Brevard
• High Falls
• Twin Falls
• Looking Glass Falls
• Moore Cove Falls
• Slick Rock Falls
• Cove Creek Falls
• Waterfalls of Graveyard Fields
• Bubbling Springs Branch Cascades
• Toms Spring Falls
• Courthouse Falls
• Mill Shoals Falls, French Broad Falls, and Cathedral Falls
• Connestee Falls and Batson Creek Falls
• Hooker Falls, Triple Falls, and High Falls
• Grassy Creek Falls
• Wintergreen Falls
• Bridal Veil Falls
• Raven Cliff Falls
• Cashiers
• Lower Whitewater Falls
• Whitewater Falls
• Upper Bearwallow Falls
• Waterfalls of the Horsepasture River
• Toxaway Falls
• Waterfalls of Western Panthertown Valley
• Schoolhouse Falls
• Greenland Creek Falls
• Silver Run Falls
• Highlands
• Big Shoals
• Glen Falls
• Waterfalls of the Cullasaja Gorge
• Franklin
• Big Laurel Falls
• Rufus Morgan Falls
• Great Smoky Mountains and Cherokee
• Soco Falls
• Flat Creek Falls
• Chasteen Creek Cascades
• Mingo Falls and Upper Mingo Falls
• Little Creek Falls
• Waterfalls of Deep Creek

APPENDIXES


• Contact Information
• Index
• About the Authors

Editorial Reviews

Johnny Molloy is basically the father of Appalachian outdoor guidebooks... the descriptions include the kind of helpful detail that has made Molloy the standard in the guide book field.”
—George Brosi, Appalachian Mountain Books

From the Publisher