High Falls NC is a 150 foot tall waterfall with a covered bridge at the very top. The waterfall is one of three falls, very close to each other long the waterfalls trail in Dupont State Park, near Brevard, NC.
Roundtrip Distance: 1.2-mile roundtrip easy trail from the High Falls Visitor center and parking area
Difficulty: Easy – Moderate
Handicap Accessible: No
Dog Friendly: Yes
Features:Waterfall, swimming hole at the base
Directions:Take I-40 to exit 46A for I-26 East towards Hendersonville. Take I-26 east to Exit 40. Turn right off Exit 40 onto NC 280. Take NC 280 south 16 miles to US 64. Turn left onto US 64 and go 3.7 miles to the stop light. Turn right onto Crab Creek Rd and go 4.3 miles to DuPont Road. Turn right onto DuPont Rd and go 4.2 miles. DuPont Rd becomes Staton Road. Follow Staton Road down, and turn left on Buck Forest Rd for the parking area for High Falls which has restrooms and a visitor’s center.
Recommended Gear: Good [easyazon_link keywords=”hiking boots” locale=”US” tag=”blueridgemountainlife-20″]hiking boots[/easyazon_link] or shoes, some water, and a digital camera.
Map:
High Falls NC
High Falls NC is accessible on the High Falls Trail from the visiter’s center at High Falls. You can also access it coming from Hooker Falls and Triple Falls as well.
The base of High Falls is accessible by taking River Bend Trail, which when coming from the Visitor’s center, is past the High Falls overlook. You will see it branch to the right. If coming from Hooker Falls and Triple Falls, it will branch to the left.
This area below High Falls is a popular wading and swimming area. People are often seen in the pools below wading and enjoying the spray from the falls. If water levels are low, you can easily hop across the many rocks, and get right to the base of the waterfall, where you’ll be greeting by a wonderful spray, that is refreshing in the hot summer.
The overlook for High Falls NC is located after the Visitors center, going down High Falls Trail. If you are coming from Hooker Falls or Triple Falls, it will be up High Falls trail and to your left. the Overlook provides one of the best views of the High Falls, and this is a very common photo spot. Water from the Little River plummets down this tall rock face into the pools below.
Waterflow at High Falls is very dependent on the time of year, and how much rain the area has had. When we visited, the falls weren’t flowing heavily, but visiting after a rain can yield a waterfall that covers most of the rock in the photo above. Just expect your view to vary depending on weather conditions.
At the top of High Falls is a Covered bridge, that takes Buck Cove Rd. over Little River just before the falls. The bridge is beautiful, as is the view from this location.
To continue to the covered bridge above High Falls, continue on up High Falls Trail until it intersects with the Covered Bridge Trail about .2 miles up. Follow the Covered Bridge trail about .5 miles to the bridge, and Buck Cove Rd.
High Falls Covered Bridge
At the end of Covered Bridge Trail, you’ll emerge onto Buck Cove Rd. and see the covered bridge crossing over Little River, above High Falls. The bridge and road was built by a developer who had planned to build a very high-end gated community in this area, but lost a legal battle with the state who ended up gaining control of the property.
While the bridge is modern, it was built using old style construction methods, and is very historic looking. There are some great photo opportunities here, especially on the river opposite of the falls, as you can see below.
High Falls is the third waterfall along the Dupont State Park waterfalls trail. You can read about the full waterfall trail in our Dupont State Forest Waterfalls Trail guide, which includes Hooker Falls, Triple Falls and Bridal Veil Falls as well.
To see a comprehensive list of our more than 25 waterfall guides, see our Waterfalls Page.
High Falls NC Photo Gallery
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High Falls NC Video
Drone footage of a High Falls fly over. This is pretty amazing!
