Great Smoky Mountains

A Great Smoky Mountain National Park and Surrounding Areas Guide

Waterfalls of the Great Smoky Mountains

 Waterfall by usa.paul

If you are looking to view out the way waterfalls in the SouthEast United States, Great Smoky Mountains National Park is one of the best places to do so. Because rainfall in the Smokies averages 85 inches per year and the elevation of much of the park drops drastically, waterfalls can bee seen on most every river or stream within Great Smoky Mountains National Park.

Included below are some of the Great Smoky Mountains more popular waterfalls. Please be cautious when visiting waterfalls. Numerous fatalities and injuries have occurred from people climbing the slippery algae and mist covered rocks near waterfalls and in rivers.

Popular Smoky Mountains Waterfalls

Abrams Falls - a high volume waterfall that spills into Great Smoky Mountains National Park’s largest natural pool. With so much water cascading down the jutting rocks, Abrams Falls can be heard long before it is seen.
Baskins Creek Falls - A "secret" waterfall, not usually mentioned in Great Smoky Mountains literature, Baskins Creek Falls (also known as "Baskins Falls") is a beautiful 40 ft waterfall accessed from Roaring Fork Nature Trail.
Grotto Falls - Old-growth hemlocks along Trillium Gap Trail lead the way to Grotto Falls, a 25 ft. wispy waterfall that gently cascades down into the clear, shallow pool below.
Hen Wallow Falls - Hen Wallow Falls starts out skinny and ends wide, stretching out 20-foot at the base. From top to bottom, the gentle waterfall runs 90-foot. During the summer months, lush green moss grows on the rocks just outside the water’s reach.
Laurel Falls - One of the most popular waterfalls in Great Smoky Mountains National Park, Laurel Falls is an 80-foot water slide down a staircase of rock (Note: Do not slide down the fall). The beautiful mountain laurel, the flower for which the waterfall is named, bloom along the trail and around Laurel Falls in May.