Long Waterfall Hikes in North Carolina

Plenty of waterfalls in Western North Carolina are a five-minute walk from the parking lot. This page isn’t about those. If you want a hike that actually earns the payoff — more elevation, more distance, maybe a few creek crossings — you need trails long enough to feel like a real outing, not a photo stop. This list sticks to the long waterfall hikes in North Carolina that genuinely deliver mileage along with the falls. Below you’ll find distances and difficulty exactly as reported, honest notes on closures, and the trip-prep details that actually matter before you commit a half-day to one of these.

The Longest Waterfall Hikes Worth Doing

1. Douglas Falls Trail

At about 8 miles round trip and rated strenuous, this is the longest waterfall hike on this list by a wide margin. The trail passes through two virgin hemlock groves before reaching the 70-foot Douglas Creek Falls, which means you’re getting old-growth forest as part of the reward, not just the waterfall at the end. This one fits the “long waterfall hike” angle better than almost anything else in the region — it’s a genuine backcountry commitment, not a stroll with a view.

2. Mouse Creek Falls via Big Creek Trail

This out-and-back runs about 4 miles round trip and is rated moderate, passing the Midnight Hole swimming hole on the way to the 45-foot Mouse Creek Falls. It’s inside Great Smoky Mountains National Park, so it has a different feel than the Pisgah routes — wider, gentler grade, but still enough distance to make it a half-day trip. One important note: after Hurricane Helene, Big Creek Trail is open only as far as Mouse Creek Falls, with the section beyond closed. That’s fine for this hike since the falls is the destination anyway.

3. Rainbow Falls and Turtleback Falls (Gorges State Park)

Rainbow Falls is about 3 miles round trip from the Grassy Ridge access and rated moderate, with a return climb of roughly 500 feet — that climb is exactly what separates this from the shorter waterfall walks nearby. The 150-foot Rainbow Falls on the Horsepasture River is a legitimate destination on its own, but pushing another half mile upstream gets you to Turtleback Falls, a smaller sliding cascade. Combining both makes this one of the better two-waterfall long hikes in the Gorges State Park area. Worth knowing: the first stretch is state park land, but the falls themselves sit on National Forest land, which affects which rules and closures apply.

4. Graveyard Fields Loop

The full loop with Upper Falls runs about 3.5 miles and is rated easy to moderate, making it one of the more approachable “long” waterfall hikes on this list. What makes it worth the distance is the setting — a mile-high valley managed by Pisgah National Forest with two separate waterfalls, Second Falls reachable as a short walk from the overlook and Upper Falls requiring the fuller loop. The catch is popularity: the overlook lot on the Blue Ridge Parkway fills early on weekends and especially during fall color season.

5. Catawba Falls Trail Loop

This loop covers 3.5 miles and is rated easy to intermediate, leading to a 205-foot lower falls and an 80-foot upper falls — two waterfalls of genuinely different character on one trail. The loop reopened after Hurricane Helene, but the upper viewing platform and the Wildflower Trail were still closed at last check, so confirm current access before you plan on seeing the upper falls up close.

6. Deep Creek Waterfalls Loop

At 2.4 miles round trip and rated moderate due to steep sections, stairs, and roots, this loop near Bryson City strings together three waterfalls: Juney Whank Falls, Indian Creek Falls, and Tom Branch Falls. Three distinct waterfalls in under three miles is a strong ratio, and the terrain variety keeps it from feeling like a flat there-and-back.

7. Twin Falls via Avery Creek Trail

Twin Falls is reached by a side loop off the 3.2-mile Avery Creek Trail in the Pisgah Ranger District, rated moderate. This is a good pick if you want two waterfalls but don’t want the full commitment of Douglas Falls or Big Creek — the base trail gives you enough distance to feel earned, and the side loop delivers two falls instead of one.

8. Upper Creek Falls Trail

This loop in the Grandfather Ranger District off NC-181 carries the Forest Service’s “most difficult” rating, leading to tiered cascades rather than a single drop. No official mileage is published for this one, so treat it as a longer, rougher outing than the rating alone suggests — the terrain, not just the distance, is what makes it demanding.

9. Stone Mountain Falls (Stone Mountain State Park)

Part of the Stone Mountain Loop Trail, this route is rated strenuous and involves more than 300 steps to reach the 200-foot waterfall on Big Sandy Creek. This is as physically demanding as waterfall hiking gets in this region, and it’s worth noting that part of the loop was closed at last check — confirm with NC State Parks before you go, since a partial closure could shorten or reroute the hike.

10. Courthouse Falls Trail

Normally a short trail, Courthouse Falls currently requires walking in on Forest Service Road 140, which is closed to vehicles — that adds roughly 5 miles round trip on foot until the road reopens to cars. It’s an unusual entry on a “long hike” list because the length is a byproduct of a road closure rather than trail design, but right now it genuinely is one of the longer waterfall hikes in the area, leading to a waterfall dropping into a round plunge pool.

How We Ranked These

Distance alone wasn’t enough to make this list — plenty of short trails have long access-road walks tacked on, and that’s not the same as a genuinely long trail. Four things mattered most in choosing these ten:

• Actual trail mileage, not access-road padding. Courthouse Falls is the one exception, and we said so directly rather than letting it masquerade as a naturally long trail.
• Post-storm accessibility. Hurricane Helene and past storms have closed sections of trail across this region permanently or indefinitely. We left out anything currently closed, like Crabtree Falls and Setrock Creek Falls, and flagged partial closures where they still affect the hikes included here.
• Payoff relative to distance. A long hike to one modest waterfall isn’t as compelling as a long hike to two or three, so multi-waterfall routes like Deep Creek and Twin Falls rank well here.
• Honest difficulty reporting. We used the Forest Service and state park ratings as published rather than softening or exaggerating them, because a strenuous, 300-step descent is a very different trip than a moderate one.

Parking and Trailhead Reality

Graveyard Fields has the worst parking situation on this list by far — the overlook lot on the Blue Ridge Parkway fills early on weekends and fills even faster during leaf season, so plan on arriving early or accepting you might not get a spot. Big Creek Trail’s trailhead sits inside Great Smoky Mountains National Park, which tends to draw steady traffic but rarely feels as squeezed as the more famous Smokies trailheads. Courthouse Falls is a different problem entirely: with FR 140 closed to vehicles, there’s no drive-up trailhead at all right now, just a longer walk-in from wherever the closure begins. Stone Mountain State Park and Gorges State Park both have designated trailhead parking, but neither is immune to filling up on a nice weekend, so a mid-morning arrival is a safer bet than an afternoon one.

Seasonal Notes

Fall color season pushes crowds hard at Graveyard Fields and Catawba Falls, both of which sit close to popular scenic drives. Winter changes the calculus for the steeper hikes — Stone Mountain Falls‘ 300-plus steps and Upper Creek Falls‘ rough terrain both get considerably more hazardous with ice, so if you’re attempting either between late fall and early spring, expect the potential for icy sections and plan your footwear accordingly. Douglas Falls and Big Creek, both longer backcountry-style hikes, are best tackled when daylight hours are longer, since 8 miles or even 4 miles takes real time on foot. Whatever the season, storm damage from recent hurricanes has left some trails and access roads in flux, so checking current conditions before you go isn’t optional — it’s the difference between a completed hike and a wasted drive.

What to Bring

For the longer hikes on this list — Douglas Falls, Big Creek, and the extended Courthouse Falls walk-in — bring more water than you think you need and a real trail map or offline GPS, since cell service is unreliable in most of these forest districts. Trekking poles are genuinely useful on Stone Mountain Falls’ stairs and on the roots-and-stairs terrain of Deep Creek. For anything involving stream crossings, like the Skinny Dip Falls area or sections of Big Creek, expect wet feet as a real possibility rather than an edge case. None of these trails require a permit based on the available information, but state park entries like Gorges and Stone Mountain may have day-use rules worth confirming, and Chimney Rock-style admission fees apply at some state park properties in this broader region — check current pricing and hours before you go.

Frequently Asked Questions

What’s the longest waterfall hike in North Carolina on this list?
Douglas Falls Trail, at roughly 8 miles round trip, is the longest by a clear margin, followed by Big Creek’s route to Mouse Creek Falls at about 4 miles round trip.

Are any of these long waterfall hikes currently affected by storm damage?
Yes. Big Creek Trail is open only to Mouse Creek Falls with the section beyond closed, Catawba Falls’ upper platform and Wildflower Trail were still closed at last check, and Courthouse Falls requires an extra walk-in because FR 140 remains closed to vehicles. Always confirm current conditions before heading out.

Which long waterfall hike has the most waterfalls per mile?
Deep Creek Waterfalls Loop delivers three separate waterfalls — Juney Whank Falls, Indian Creek Falls, and Tom Branch Falls — in just 2.4 miles round trip, which is the best ratio on this list.

Is Stone Mountain Falls hike as difficult as it sounds?
The strenuous rating and 300-plus steps are accurate descriptions, not exaggerations — this is one of the more physically demanding waterfall hikes in the region, and part of the loop was closed at last check, so confirm with NC State Parks before planning around it.

Do any of these longer hikes have swimming opportunities along the way?
Big Creek passes the Midnight Hole swimming hole before reaching Mouse Creek Falls, making it one of the few longer hikes on this list with a real swimming stop built into the route.

If none of these fit exactly what you’re after — whether that’s a shorter option, a specific difficulty level, or something closer to a particular town — browse the full, verified trail directory at /directory-category/trails-hiking/, where you can filter by distance, difficulty, and current conditions. As always, check current conditions before you head out, since closures and access changes across this region are common enough to matter.

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Related Pages

• Pisgah Waterfall Hikes
• Family Friendly Waterfall Hikes In North Carolina
• Waterfall Hikes Near Asheville NC
• Waterfall Hikes in North Carolina
• Trail Conditions Near Asheville NC
• Tallest Waterfalls in North Carolina Hikes
• DuPont Waterfall Hikes

This guide is part of our best waterfall hikes in North Carolina series, built only on officially verified trail data.