Transylvania

Jackson

From the junction of NC 281 and US 64 west of Lake Toxaway, drive 8.5 miles south on NC 281 and turn left at the sign for Whitewater Falls. The road leads a short distance to the large parking area

, Jim Bob Tinsley calls Whitewater Falls “The Patriarch of all Transylvania County Waterfalls.”

 He’ll get no argument from me other than the title doesn’t cover enough territory. In my opinion, only Burke County has a legitimate contender for the crown with its Linville Falls.

Whitewater Falls gets taken for granted. Easy access and high publicity cause us not to appreciate its true grandeur. I’ve heard hard-core waterfallers dismiss it as a “tourist” waterfall, but I’ve no doubt that if seeing it required a long, arduous hike, it would be at the top of their list. 

Linville Falls is the most storied waterfall in North Carolina and is unparalleled in its combination of beauty, striking geology, deep history, and outstanding recreational opportunities. But it can’t top Whitewater’s height and sheer awesomeness. Whitewater Falls is 

Part of Whitewater’s grandeur is that we can see it at once in its entirety. No pesky rhododendrons steal the show here. The viewing platform is on the opposite slope, enabling us to see the waterfall in context with the surrounding mountainsides. I often snicker at the way early authors use the word 

 to describe seemingly everything in their path, but here the word seems inadequate.

In the “worthless trivia” category, Whitewater’s entry is that, as far as I know, it’s the only waterfall in North Carolina to have a theme-park ride named for it. Well, it 

 one. WhiteWater Falls opened in 1988 at Carrowinds. The ride closed in 2016.

Easy/difficult

A paved path ascends gently to the upper viewpoint at a split-rail fence. From here, a long series of steps (154, to be exact) leads down to an observation deck.

A trail continues from the observation deck, but it doesn’t lead to views of Whitewater Falls. It soon connects with Foothills Trail, where a left turn takes you down to the river far below the falls, crosses the river, and then goes on to Laurel Falls. A right turn swings you back around and up to a connector path coming down from the restroom building at the parking area.

The trail to the upper viewing point is suitable for people with limited mobility who take it slow. If you can handle the stairs, I highly recommend you go down to the lower observation deck, as the view is really special.

, by Arthur W. Spalding, published in 1921. This is the same photo as M03-103A. (103A-17)

Historical photo by R. Henry Scadin. This photo was used to create postcard 103A-08 and 103A-10. (103A-12)

, edited by Blackwell P. Robinson, and published in 1955. Note the couple standing in the bottom left. (103A-18)

Historical photo by R. Henry Scadin. This is an unusual vantage point for Whitewater Falls. (103A-19)

Whitewater Falls photo by Edward L. DuPuy on the cover of 

William Henry Jackson photographed this view of Whitewater Falls in 1902. (103A-02)

William Henry Jackson photographed this view of Whitewater Falls in 1902. (103A-03)

William Henry Jackson photographed this view of Whitewater Falls in 1902. (103A-04)

This early postcard shows a close view of the lower section of Whitewater Falls. The caption on the card says, "Second Leap, Ossawa Falls, White Water River. In the Beautiful Sapphire Country, Western N.C." This postcard was mailed using a 1-cent stamp and is postmarked June 1, 1909, Lake Toxaway. (103A-11)

The Land of the Sky, A Picturesque Country on the Southern Railway

, 1904. The waterfall in the upper left is Whitewater Falls. It is the same photo as postcard 103A-11. (M01-103A)

Drummond's Pictorial Atlas of North Carolina

, edited and published by Albert Y. Drummond in 1924. Two photos of Whitewater Falls are shown on the bottom row. On the far left is R. Henry Scadin's photo, 103A-12. The third from the left photo is the same one that's in The Hills O' Ca'liny, 103A-17. (M02-103A)

, by Robert Frank Jarrett, published in 1946. The photo of Whitewater Falls on the bottom right is the same one as 103A-17. (M03-103A)

Early postcard featuring Whitewater Falls. (103A-07)

Early postcard featuring Whitewater Falls. The R. Henry Scadin historical photo 103A-12 was used to make this postcard and also 103A-10. (103A-08)

Early postcard featuring Whitewater Falls. The R. Henry Scadin historical photo 103A-12 was used to make this postcard and also 103A-08. (103A-10)

Early postcard featuring Whitewater Falls. (103A-13)

Early postcard featuring Whitewater Falls. (103A-09)

This advertisement was published as a postcard. I don’t know the exact date, but Dr. Carroll moved his sanitarium from Haywood Street in downtown Asheville to Zillicoa Street in 1906 or 1909 and changed the name to Highland Hospital in either 1906 or 1912, so it’s reasonable to assume the postcard was published circa 1906 to 1912. Highland Hospital is a well-known for Dr. Carroll’s questionable treatment methods, the famous people who stayed there, including (supposedly) Patsy Cline and James Taylor, and for a tragic fire that killed one those famous people, Zelda Fitzgerald, socialite wife of F. Scott Fitzgerald. Zelda perished in the 1948 fire, along with eight other women.

This is an old film shot that I made sometime in the early 1990s. (103A-1100F)

This is an old film shot from the early 1990s. (103A-1401F)

A film shot made prior to 2005. (103A-1402F)

A film shot made prior to 2005. This photo was used on the cover of the second edition of 

Aerial photo made in 2006. Whiteside Mountain is in the distance. (103A-09200)

This is a cropped view of 103A-09200. (103A-09200V2)

It’s near the South Carolina border, southeast of Cashiers and southwest of Lake Toxaway.

Get Your Bearings

Whitewater Falls is included in a fee system instituted to help pay for maintenance and improvements at popular sites within the national forest. The current fee is $3 per day for a vehicle with up to seven occupants. There is a self-service pay station at the trailhead. You can also purchase an annual pass for $15 from 

Passes purchased for Whitewater Falls are also valid at Dry Falls and Whiteside Mountain.

Special Considerations

Many people hike the old road from the upper overlook thinking it will take them to the top of the falls, but it doesn’t (see Road To Whitewater). You must leave the road and climb down a steep path to reach the brink.

If you’re thinking about doing that, remember this: If you fall at Whitewater Falls, you die. Period. Local search & rescue teams don’t perform rescue operations here. They only recover bodies.

Whitewater Falls is a bit different from other waterfalls in that the top provides a false sense of security and it’s luring. There are flat areas up there that encourage you to get too close, and the desire to look out over the falls is strong. In addition, the river current is always more powerful than people realize. If you slip, even at a distance far from the brink, you won’t be able to stop yourself from going over the falls.

Whitewater Falls may have claimed more lives than any other waterfall in North Carolina. Young and old, in good shape and out. None of those souls thought they were going to die that day. 

Extra Special Considerations

The waterfall was often called Upper Falls and in fact, the official USGS maps still uses that name. The name distinguishes the falls from Lower Whitewater Falls, just across the border in South Carolina. Sometimes you’ll see it spelled Upper Whitewater Falls. Despite the USGS map designation, Whitewater Falls is the more proper name for the waterfall today.

An early postcard called it Ossawa Falls.

Naming

Whitewater Falls has been cited as being 411 feet high for as long as I can remember. I have no idea when, how, or by whom it was measured. Typically, when I see a number like this, I take it seriously. If the measurement were 400 feet, I would assume it was just a guess. But nobody is going to throw out 411 feet unless they have some basis for it. (Interestingly, in the August 1, 1966 issue of 

 magazine, it’s listed at 410 feet high.)

Another figure often cited historically is 800 feet. I suspect this is partly because of confusion between Whitewater Falls and lower Whitewater Falls. The lower falls is often cited as around 400 feet high. I imagine some people don’t realize that they are far apart and just assume the “Upper” and “Lower” falls are separate tiers of the same waterfall.

A bigger reason for the 800 foot figure is likely because at one time there was a sign at the junction of US 64 and NC 281 that stated “WHITEWATER FALLS, MAGNIFICENT CASCADES FALLING 800 FEET.”Okay, then.

How high is it really? My measurements in 2023 using a rangefinder put it at 335 feet. I measured again in 2024 and got 340 feet. Someone else measuring the waterfall at the same time and using the same instrument would likely arrive at a slightly different figure because of differences in where the measurements are taken at the top and bottom. I was too far away, especially from the top, to be precise, even if there were an objective determination for the top and bottom (there is not).

Counting lines on the Cashiers NC/SC/GA USGS topo map I get 340 feet. But this is an extremely inaccurate method for determining height, even if you had an objective starting and stopping point. Consider that when I count topo lines on Gaia I get 280 to 300 feet.

Using LiDAR data, I get 335 feet. LiDAR is fairly accurate, but there is still the issue of the start and stop points. Even with a contour interval of just one meter, you could easily be six feet off from what you would determine the top and bottom while in the field, and very likely more for some waterfalls. 

What’s my final answer? Until someone proves otherwise, I feel comfortable stating that Whitewater Falls is approximately 335 feet high.

Measuring

I remember my mother asking my father about a visit to Whitewater Falls they had made before I was born. She said she recalled that the road hugged the mountainside so close to the waterfall that you could see it from your car window. Her memory wasn’t failing her; the road indeed once ran that close to the falls. In fact, the trail you walk to the falls was the original road.

You can still follow that old road from the upper viewpoint of Whitewater Falls at the split-rail fence. It swings around the gorge and crosses Whitewater River immediately upstream from 

 cross the river at the top of Whitewater Falls.)

The earliest USGS map showing a road in the vicinity of Whitewater Falls is the Cowee 1907, 1:125,000 map. (The 1897 map shows nothing.) North Carolina began issuing state road maps in 1916. A road near Whitewater Falls did not show on the state map until 1966 and it was shown as an unpaved road. The earliest that a paved road was shown on the state map was 1981. Interestingly, Whitewater Falls was indicated on the map beginning in 1963, three years before the map showed a road to it. Of course, there had been an unimproved county road since at least 1907.

I don’t know when the dirt road was finally improved and paved or when it was rerouted around the falls. I know it was still in bad shape as late as 1970. An article in 

 magazine that year talks about the terrible condition of the road. It mentioned that the road work would be completed in three to four years. The writer bemoans the fact that one could reach Whitewater Falls over good roads from South Carolina but not North Carolina: “Isn’t it ridiculous that the State of South Carolina—rather than we ourselves—would be the first to build an adequate access road to a prime North Carolina tourist attraction?”

Road To Whitewater

The Whitewater River corridor and Whitewater Falls in particular is a nationally significant natural area, harboring a staggering number of mosses and liverworts, many of them very rare. L. L. Gaddy in 

A Naturalists Guide to the Southern Blue Ridge Front

 says “Whitewater Gorge…which is probably the richest moss site in North America, harbors 268 species of mosses—more than the entire state of California.”213 Many of these species grow in the spray cliff natural community at Whitewater Falls. Fortunately, the spray cliff areas are very difficult to reach, which lets them remain relatively undisturbed.

The waterfalls and floral diversity of Whitewater Gorge, along with that of the other rivers in the Lake Jocassee watershed—Thompson, Horsepasture, Toxaway—led National Geographic to name “Jocassee Gorges” one of “50 of the World’s Last Great Places” in a special edition published in 2012.

If you walk around the picnic area in spring, you may notice a pretty little trillium. Often mistaken for the common yellow trillium, 

, a rare wildflower that grows only in Savannah River Basin. In North Carolina, it grows at only a few sites along Whitewater and Thompson rivers.

Check out the hemlock trees growing beside the lower observation deck. The two trees framing the view toward the falls are Carolina hemlocks, 

. The one to the left, as you face the falls, is eastern hemlock, 

. Carolina hemlock is rather uncommon, and it’s even more uncommon to find it growing with eastern hemlock as they have different habitat requirements.

The best time for your nose to visit Whitewater Falls is in May, when the multiflora rose blooms all along the paved path. Yes, it’s an invasive species and I wish it wasn’t here, but oh my gosh it smells so good. The native bristly locust is another notable plant growing along the path, not for its aroma but rather the beautiful pink flowers and bristly seed pods.

Biology

It’s interesting that Whitewater Falls largely escaped the pen of early travel writers. Travelogues from the late 19th and early 20th centuries are full of tales about Linville Falls, Dry Falls, Cullasaja Falls, Bottomless Pools, Hickory Nut Falls, and a few others, but literature is comparatively scarce for Whitewater.

I presume it’s because of access. Early travelers were limited by available railroad routes and carriage roads, and access to Whitewater Falls remained difficult well into the 20th century.

 in 1845, a collection of seven short fiction stories (“Tales” as Sims calls them) set in the Southern Frontier. I believe the last story in the book, “Jocassee, A Cherokee Legend,” is the only one that references a North Carolina waterfall, in this case Whitewater Falls, although I admit that I haven’t read the others. I hope that Sims kept to his writing and didn’t venture into measuring things!

Actually, the forty feet figure is puzzling not just for its obvious inaccuracy. In 

, Tinsley includes a quote from Simms’ travel journal in which he states the waterfall is four hundred high.

He was away, on a great hunt of the young men, up at Charashilactay, or the falls of the White Water, as we call it to this day—a beautiful cascade of nearly forty feet, the water of which is of a milky complexion.

Literature

Whitewater Falls is a terrific subject for photography. Since it’s totally in the open it photographs well on a sunny day, but you have to make sure the sun is high enough in the sky to clear the surrounding mountains and fully illuminate the falls. Of course, on an overcast day, you can photograph at any time.

The vantage point from the observation deck is not totally open, so you’ll have some trees jutting in a bit. You can hop over the fence and scramble down to a more open view from the cliff, but you’ll still have to contend with tree branches.

The images in some of the historical photos and postcards were made from vantage points at the base or partly up on the falls. This is rather remarkable given how difficult it is to reach these locations. One of the photos shows a nicely dressed couple, with the woman in a dress. I can only assume that there once was a decent trail leading to the base of the falls.

I made a few of my photos from the base and midpoints on the waterfall, but I don’t recommend duplicating them. This isn’t a case of do as I say not as I do; I’m just alerting you that reaching these locations is not something that most people will want to do. And you absolutely, positively, emphatically, and without question do not want to wear a dress if you do so!

Accessibility:	Hiking trail and steps (lots of steps!)
County:	Transylvania, Jackson
River Basin:	Savannah
Watercourse:	Whitewater River
Watershed:	Medium
Type and Height:	Two-tiered, monster waterfall measuring approximately 335 feet high
Landowner:	Nantahala NF, Nantahala RD

Beauty Rating:	10+
Elevation:	2580 feet
USGS Map:	Cashiers NC/SC/GA
Hike Difficulty:	Easy/difficult
Hike Distance:	About 0.2 miles to upper overlook
Waterfall GPS:	35.03485, -83.0164
Trailhead GPS:	35.03029, -83.0162

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