Southeast Waterfall & Hiking Guide

Your Hiking Guide to Waterfalls and more in the Southeast US

  • Home
  • About
  • Ease of Trail
    • Roadside
    • Wheelchair Accessible
    • Easy
    • Moderate
    • Strenuous/Hard
  • Fall Location
    • Georgia
    • North Carolina
    • South Carolina
    • Kentucky
    • Tennessee
    • Virginia
  • Waterfall Trips
    • Day Trip
    • 3 to 5 Day Trip
  • Area Attractions
    • Bridges
  • Hiking
  • Blog
    • News
    • Photography
  • Terms to Know
Home

Crabtree Falls

Posted on May 10, 2016 Written by 2 Comments

Nearby Areas: Blue Ridge Parkway   State: North Carolina   Ease of Trail: Moderate, Strenuous

Crabtree Falls 2Crabtree Falls is located at milepost 339.5 on the Blue Ridge Parkway. The Crabtree Falls Loop Trail is 2.5 miles. This 70 foot waterfall never fails to impress.

Start the hike on the paved trail behind the parking area. Follow the short paved section and pass the old amphitheater. The path winds through a meadow filled with wildflowers. In about 0.2 miles there is a fork. Go right to stay on the path to the falls. There should be a sign marking the way. You’ll come out on the Crabtree Meadows Campground road after about 450 feet. Ahead of you and to the right (across the campground road) is a parking area. Go to the back of that parking area and you’ll see the trailhead and a trail sign.

Crabtree Falls3This trail sign lists the hike as a 2 mile strenuous loop, however it is 0.6 miles to the falls and 1.9 miles from the falls back to the campground, so it’s actually a 2.5 mile hike from this sign. When you add in the 0.5 mile hike from the visitor center, it brings the total to 3 miles.

Take the trail behind the sign. It is estimated that it will take 45 minutes to reach the waterfall from this point. You’ll quickly reach the intersection with the other side of the loop. Turn right to begin the descent to Crabtree Falls. The trail at the beginning takes you through the forest on a wide, smooth, and graveled path. Throughout the trail you’ll see all kinds of large trees, including oaks, maples, and hemlocks.

Crabtree Falls 5The trail begins going downhill through a shallow, mostly dry, stream at the bottom. When the stream becomes much steeper, the trail turns toward the right into the mountainside. Here, the trail surface becomes considerably rougher. This is where the trail becomes a moderate/strenuous trail. You can also begin to hear the waterfall as well. The trail has many switchbacks before you reach the base of the falls. There are several rocky sections, tree roots, wet areas, and sets of rock steps. At the base of the waterfall, the trail crosses a wooden bridge with a bench. The boulders and rocks around the base and sides of the waterfall are very slippery so if you leave the bridge and trail area, please use caution. At this point you can either turn around and go back the way you came or continue on the loop.

The loop continues just past the waterfall. This brings you to the hardest part of the hike. The trail becomes very steep and climbs about 200 feet within the next 0.25 miles. There are many switchbacks as it ascends the ridge. As you near the top there is a bench for you to rest on before you continue on to a long set of stairs. Keep following the ridge and then you will come to some stone walls on the sides of the trail. The trail becomes a little less steep from here on.

You’ll come to a rocky outcrop and the trail runs along the side of this rock cliff. You’ll come to some more steps, which brings you to the top of the really steep part of the trail. From here on the trail widens and is mostly smooth. There are a few stream crossings, but there are bridges giving you easy access. Continue on until you complete the loop. Walk back to the campground parking lot and cross it to return to where you parked your car.

Crabtree Falls 1

 

 

Share:

  • Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window) Facebook
  • Click to share on X (Opens in new window) X
  • Click to share on WhatsApp (Opens in new window) WhatsApp
  • Click to share on Pinterest (Opens in new window) Pinterest
  • More
  • Click to share on Pocket (Opens in new window) Pocket
  • Click to share on Tumblr (Opens in new window) Tumblr
  • Click to share on Reddit (Opens in new window) Reddit
  • Click to print (Opens in new window) Print

Like this:

Like Loading...

Related

Directions

From Asheville, take the Blue Ridge Parkway north for 41 miles to the Crabtree Meadows area. Turn left and head into the former visitor center parking area. The signed trail starts at the northeast side of the parking area.

GPS Coordinates

To the Waterfall:35.8195° N, 82.1508° W

Nearby Areas: Blue Ridge Parkway

State: North Carolina

Ease of Trail: Moderate, Strenuous

Comments

  1. Ty says

    June 13, 2016 at 1:02 AM

    Love visiting here and seeing all of nature’s beauty. Keep up the great posts!

    Reply
  2. JC says

    July 5, 2017 at 10:17 AM

    Crabtree Falls is awesome! It’s a challenging hike for beginners, but it’s worth it in the end. I do hikes like this all the time, however my girlfriend said it was challenging as she is not used to hiking.

    Reply

Leave a ReplyCancel reply

Recently Added Waterfalls

  • Logan Creek Falls (also known as Falls Of Logan Creek)
    State: Virginia
    Trail Ease: Easy
  • Meadow Branch Cascades
    Meadow Branch Cascades
    State: Tennessee
    Trail Ease: Roadside
  • Whiteoak Flats Branch Falls
    Whiteoak Flats Branch Falls
    State: Tennessee
    Trail Ease: Roadside
  • Twin Falls
    Cane Creek Twin Falls
    State: Tennessee
    Trail Ease: Easy, Roadside
  • Machine Falls
    Machine Falls
    State: Tennessee
    Trail Ease: Easy, Moderate

Recently Added Trips

  • The Sinks 2
    Smoky Mountain Roadside Waterfall Day Trip
  • Little Egypt Falls
    Wartburg Area Waterfall Day Trip
  • Rutledge Falls at the base
    Tullahoma Family Friendly Waterfall Day Trip
  • Lower Greeter Falls in the Spring
    South Central Tennessee 3-5 Day Trip
  • Full length of Pine Ridge Falls
    Erwin Area Waterfall Day Trip
  • Upper Falls Graveyard Fields
    Blue Ridge Parkway to Highlands Road Trip
  • City Lake Falls
    Southeast Tennessee: Cookeville to Tellico Plains 3-5 Day Waterfall Road Trip

Fall Trails by Difficulty

  • Easy (104 trails)
  • Moderate (42 trails)
  • Wheelchair Accessible (9 trails)
  • Roadside (40 trails)
  • Strenuous (9 trails)

Waterfalls by State

  • Georgia (5 trails)
  • South Carolina (9 trails)
  • North Carolina (47 trails)
  • Tennessee (71 trails)
  • Virginia (9 trails)
  • Kentucky (4 trails)

Copyright Info
Privacy Policy

Supporting the Site
Disclaimer & Info
About the Authors
Wesite developed by Waltdesign & Development.
%d