Where is catawba falls nc

There is one more creek crossing at Chestnut Branch before you reach the falls. Thankfully, a fancy new bridge was installed here as well in October , so it's now an easy walk across! Past the second bridge, the trail climbs again, and there are a few rocks to scramble over just before you reach the base of the falls at a rocky area with a small pebble "beach" below the pool. There is room for several folks to hang out and enjoy the view, which is good since you'll likely have company!

Though the "trail" appears to continue up the right side of the lower falls. However, that way is closed; it is extremely steep, slippery, and dangerous, and it's located right next to the lower falls. It's steep almost to the point of technical rock climbing. Since a slip on that stretch of the trail could easily be fatal, and injuries and deaths frequently occur there - most recently in July August January August 2 people October June , we do not recommend going beyond the lower falls.

Not to mention the resource damage that's being caused by the heavily eroded trail. This is serious stuff, folks! So don't underestimate it like this young man who did but fortunately lived to tell about it:.

The good news is, no reports of injuries have been made on the trail to the lower falls, and the Forest Service is planning a re-route of the trail to the upper falls, which should make them vastly more accessible. The Catawba Falls area has a long history of receiving visitors for recreation, and the waters of the river below the falls have been used for electrical generation as well.

As early as the 's, accounts of trips of the falls read much the same as they would today - save for the part about a lack of trail:. We set out next morning, following the fountain pipe, for Catawba Falls, which we reached this time without difficulty. On every side the forest was thick with the white and pink ivy, which was now in full blossom, mingled with the white laurel and the superb azalea - white, scarlet and brilliant orange.

In going to the falls we followed, to the last mile of the way, the course of a stream, entirely without a path, down a very wild and steep yet extremely beautiful gorge. We had almost despaired of ever finding the falls, when suddenly we found ourselves at their foot. They are in two divisions. The lower is a succession of cascades, the whole aggregating nearly two hundred feet.

Very beautiful they are, but the upper falls, with their single plunge, are still more so. The climb to the latter was like trying to walk up a wall. For two hundred yards or more, we had to hold on to trees and bushes every step lest we fall and know no more. The dam you'll see on the way up to the falls was built in the 's to provide hydroelectric power for Old Fort. Further downstream was a powerhouse, with the water being sent there from the dam via a pipe.

To the right of the dam is the remains of another powerhouse, supplied by water from Chestnut Branch, which you cross just before the falls. Duke Energy company eventually acquired this small generating station and shut it down. By the late s, the US Forest Service owned the land around the falls.

It was being accessed by the public over private tracts, but the owners closed it off with a gate. Soon, McDowell County abandoned their right-of-way over a stretch of road through private lands, essentially sealing off official public access although some folks still came to the falls by trespassing, or off of an illegal access from I Though the Forest Service put acquisition of the land needed to provide public access to the land it already owned at the top of its priority list, nothing changed for many years.

By the mid's, some of the land near the easiest access point to the falls came up for sale. This re-kindled the idea of obtaining public access to the falls, but it also introduced the threat of land development, which would foreclose any possibility of public access forever.

Before the exit ramp ends, take the right-hand turn onto Catawba River Rd. If you are coming from east of Old Fort on I west, take Exit 73, turn left and take the first right before McDonald's on ramp to get back onto I Turn left onto Catawba River Rd. Drive three miles to the end of the road to the parking lot. See our Old Fort Guide for more things to do in the area. The town of Marion is nearby.

Tom's Creek Falls is about 20 miles away. Skip to main content. Search form Search. Catawba Falls, NC. Check out this video of Catawba Falls by our friends at Namaste in Nature : Recent History: The new parking area is constructed on a small piece of an acre tract, which was acquired by the U. Area Info. Includes Pisgah Forest, with hiking, waterfalls, fishing, Lake James and many things to do. See their Blue Ridge Traveler's guide for details. Go to their website.

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