Highlands Waterfall Weekend

Stacie and I spent last weekend in a B&B in Highlands, NC. It was a nice place to stay and the temperature was great. We've had a very mild July here in Atlanta, but it was still a nice change to hang out in the mountain air around 70 degrees. While we were there, we hit a hiking trail on Whiteside Mountain and visited some great waterfalls.

Here are some great links if you are heading to the area:

http://www.ncwaterfalls.com/

http://inspirezone.org/whiteside.html

http://www.cs.unca.edu/nfsnc/recreation/wncwaterfalls/highlands.html

Whitewater Falls (Upper portion in NC). The clouds were a little low this day. It really was thick when we hiked up Whiteside Mountain and couldn't see anything from the observation points. Whitewater Falls has to be one of the most accessable "large" waterfalls you will ever see. It is only about a few hundred feet from the parking lot and has a paved path that is wheelchair, stroller, and pet friendly. You can go down a flight of stairs to get a little different view, but it is still great from the first observation area. Next time, we will head to the lower falls on the SC side.

Bridal Veil Falls. The road used to go straight under it and you can still drive your car under this one if you want.

Silver Run Falls. This is a nice little one that was tucked away but still very close to the road.

Bust Your Butt Falls. It had a little swimming hole where families were playing.

Cullasaja Falls. This one is pretty much only visible from a small turnoff on the road.

Dry Falls. This one is really cool. It's big and you can walk around the back of it. I think this one was in The Last of the Mohicans movie.

Glenn Falls. This a series of falls that is accessible from a one way 1-1.5 mile moderate hike. We really enjoyed this one and you can get very close to it and have the water just running around you from dry spots at some of the bases.