NC Waterfalls

Two impressive waterfalls, only a few yards apart, sit directly below the spillway of Wolf Creek Dam. Unfortunately, they aren’t open to the public.

Completed in 1955, Wolf Creek Dam follows a design common among western North Carolina dams: the dam covers the original river channel, while the spillway runs through a new channel blasted from rock. Driving across the dam takes you over the stream’s original course.

Stone blasted from the spillway channel was used to build the dam, and the excavation created the two waterfalls: a 42-foot lower fall and a 50-foot upper fall. At many similarly designed dams, spillway falls look clearly artificial. Here, without the dam for context, they could easily pass for natural waterfalls.

As with all Duke Energy dams, the property immediately surrounding Wolf Creek Dam is closed to the public. Without permission, the closest view is from the road, where you can look down the spillway and see the brink of the upper fall.