Hiking Trails Near Me with Waterfalls 2023 in the US

There are waterfalls whose magnitude and strength make people gasp in wonder. What are the hiking trails near me with waterfalls 2023? There are lesser waterfalls that quite tense emotions with beautiful scenery and sedating natural sounds.

Hiking Trails Near Me with Waterfalls 2023 in the US

Nothing beats reaching a beautiful, awe-inspiring waterfall at the conclusion of a challenging trek for dedicated hikers.

While many rural falls are part of major parks and are relatively easy to get, some are more difficult to reach and need expertise and abilities.

These waterfall treks are among the most popular hiking locations in the United States, ranging from many spectacular falls in Yosemite Park to a verdant oasis at the bottom of the Grand Canyon.

It’s possible that the hours and availability have changed. The undulating, mountainous scenery around Asheville, North Carolina is breathtaking.

It filled the horizon with tree-covered mountain peaks and grassy balds, while deep-cut river basins and gorges slash through the terrain, overflowing, falling, and diving in dozens of spectacular waterfalls.

When a river hits a tall rock, water descends and overflows into a pool below, which appears to be magical. The waterfalls are just stunning.

Hiking Trails Near Me With Waterfalls 2023

Grab a water bottle, a companion, and a snack before heading out to see some amazing, cascading falls. Below are some of the Hiking Trails Near Me With Waterfalls in 2023 in the US:

1. Havasu Falls Trail, AZ

This is one of the Hiking Trails Near Me With Waterfalls 2022 in the US.

Havasu Falls Trail, AZ

The Havasu Falls are a magnificent green oasis in the heart of the Arizona desert, on the Havasupai Indian Reservation at the bottom of the Grand Canyon near the town of Supai, Arizona.

Also, Havasu Falls, considered one of the most beautiful and famous waterfalls in the world, is difficult to reach since you must trek 10 miles down the steep, dry canyon sides to the campsite.

It is not a trek that can be completed in a single day, and it also may not be completed as a day hike.

And it’s a good idea to rest in the campground before attempting the strenuous climb back up.

However, there are, of course, simpler options: You may hire a reliable tour company with mules or even take a helicopter ride.

2. Multnomah-Wahkeena Loop

This is one of the Hiking Trails Near Me With Waterfalls 2023.

Multnomah-Wahkeena Loop

Multnomah Falls, Oregon’s highest waterfall (620 feet), is only the beginning.

Hike to the top viewpoint and continue on to finish the Multnomah-Wahkeena Loop Hike, which ends with Wiesendanger Falls, Dutchman Falls, Ecola Falls, Fairy Falls, and Wahkeena Falls.

3. Cascade Foothills

Cascade Foothills

This is one of the Hiking Trails Near Me With Waterfalls 2022. Of course, this is the most apparent option, so we’ll only skim the surface.

Ten waterfalls, six of which are over 90 feet tall, are in a beautiful temperate rainforest east of Salem.

If you don’t want to trek the full Trail of Ten Falls, which is 8 to 9 miles long, consider the shorter loops.

A favorite rainy season walk begins at the Winter Falls Trailhead and runs 3.6 miles past five waterfalls and back.

Also, the centerpiece of Double Falls, which is the state park’s highest fall at 178 feet.

However, it is approximately a 45-minute drive from Salem. From Salem, travel Highway 22 east approximately 7.6 miles to Exit 7 for Silver Falls State Park.

Follow Highway 214 for 16 miles, then follow the signs to the park.

4. Sweetwater Creek White Trail and Red Trail

Hiking Trails Near Me with Waterfalls

Whitewater churning. They make bluffs of sandstone. Vast horizons. Ruins of a Civil War mill.

Sweetwater Creek State Park has a lot of outdoor beauty to offer – just a few miles from Atlanta, this Georgia State Park has some of the greatest hiking and jogging paths in the region.

This two-trail combination trek connects the park’s Red Trail and White Trail, creating a moderate 4-mile circle along Sweetwater Creek’s rocky, sandy banks and through lovely young woodland.

This journey, the park’s longest, also explores the park’s most diversified landscapes, traversing less-traveled routes to a trickling stream, isolated woodland, and lush, grassy meadows.

Sweetwater Creek State Park, just outside Atlanta’s I-285 border, has over 10 miles of great jogging and hiking paths along the banks of the rushing, whitewater-filled creek and its surrounding woodland.

Check out our Sweetwater Creek hiking, running, and adventure guide for additional excellent hiking and running routes in the park.

The route begins at the Sweetwater Creek State Park visitor center and winds through a young deciduous forest on the meandering, elevation-dropping red-blazed trail before reaching the beaches of Sweetwater Creek at.2 miles.

At the trail intersection, turn right to follow the creek downstream, arriving at the New Manchester Mill ruins after.6 mile.

5. Shellburg Falls

This is one of the Hiking Trails Near Me With Waterfalls 2022.

Shellburg Falls

The lesser-known younger brother of the more famous ShellburgFalls State Park features three waterfalls, including a 100-footer, modest crowds, and dog-friendly paths. It is the shortest drive of the five hikes.

Also, the journey begins on an ancient gated road, past fields with a few cows grazing before winding up into the thick, temperate rainforest, where wildflowers bloom in spring.

However, the ancient road crosses a concrete bridge at mile 1.3, right above lower Shellburg Fall’s 40-foot drop.

Turn left and you’ll soon arrive at the major attraction, Shellburg Falls, a 100-foot waterfall with a small, dark tunnel where you may trek below the falls.

A secondary route leads down to the grotto at the base of the waterfall. Also, it’s about a 3-mile out-and-back trek. You may make a 6-mile loop by continuing past Shellburg Falls.

Additionally,, it is approximately a 45-minute drive from Salem. Take Highway 22 east. After 22.4 kilometers, take Fern Ridge Road to the left just before Mehama’s flashing yellow light.

Follow it for 1.2 miles until you reach a tiny dirt parking area on your right.

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6. Lower Yellowstone Falls Trail, WY

Lower Yellowstone Falls Trail, WY

Lower Falls is the largest and most well-known of Yellowstone’s waterfalls.

The beautiful 308-foot-tall waterfall may be seen from a variety of vantage points, including Inspiration Point, Lookout Point, and Grandview Point in the east and Artist’s Point in the west.

However, most of them are only a short distance away.

The route to the top of the falls is roughly three-quarters of a mile long both ways, although it is quite steep and includes several switchbacks.

If you want to push yourself, follow Uncle Tom’s Trail to the bottom of Lower Falls, a 500-foot descent down a metal stairway.

Also, be prepared to descend 328 steps down a canyon with steep walls.

The view of the Lower Falls from the trail’s end is breathtaking.

7. Lullwater Park

Lullwater Park

The Lullwater Preserve, on Emory University’s North Decatur campus in Atlanta, has many picturesque walking and running path loops.

Also, the Lullwater Trail surrounds Candler Lake and traverses a span bridge to visit a mill alongside a flowing spillway waterfall in a lovely, wildlife-rich woodland.

Additionally, the many acres of Lullwater offer an immediate getaway from the city, with its towering old-growth trees providing a seemingly impassable barrier to the magnificent environment within.

Owls dive through the tree canopy, their focused stare on the woodland floor freezing the joy of surrounding squirrels.

In the Lullwater Pond, fish take a break in the shade of overhanging branches.

We may see reptiles basking in the park’s sun-dappled woodland, which can be reached via the park’s meandering pathways.

Also, the private house of Lullwater House, a 1926 Tudor palace built with stone quarried on-site for Walter Candler, a son of Coca-inventor, Cola’s is one of the park’s attractions.

The Tudor mansion overlooks Candler Lake’s calm surface, which is home to birds and fish resting in the sun in its shallows.

Candler Lake’s northern end is dammed, forming a spillway for a powerhouse that previously supplied energy to the Lullwater House estate.

A bridge made of wood and steel spans the river downstream from the waterfall, providing access to the powerhouse’s stone remains.

8. Schoolhouse Falls

Schoolhouse Falls

Schoolhouse Falls cascade from a huge, curving rock outcrop into a calm, cold pool below, nestled in a beautiful stream valley surrounded by a thick forest and green rhododendron.

It is without a doubt the most popular of Panthertown Valley’s beautiful waterfalls, owing to the relatively easy trek to the falls and the breathtaking visual splendor of the surrounding landscape.

The route, which is less than three miles long, begins at the valley’s eastern trailhead at Cold Mountain Gap and descends slowly through a hardwood forest to the pebble-lined bank of Greenland Creek.

Following the Little Green Trail southward after crossing the stream, the route leads to this beautiful waterfall.

The broad, rocky pool below the falls is an ideal place for admiring the waterfall’s splendor.

The valley is a beautiful section of the Nantahala National Forest in Cashiers, NC, known for its tumbling falls and rough landscape.

Because of its steep-sided valley walls and abundance of falls, it is frequently referred to as the unofficial ‘Yosemite of the East.’

While the mountains here don’t quite match the scale of their West Coast counterpart, the scenery of this valley is undeniably spectacular and well worth a visit.

If you go, bring a paper map with you because the valley’s trails are many, twisting, and may be confusing.

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9. Arabia Mountain Cascade Trail

Arabia Mountain Cascade Trail

Arabia Mountain, with its magnificent network of over thirty miles of trails, is one of our favorite hiking sites in metro Atlanta.

However, while the ultra-popular trek to the Arabia Mountain peak for panoramic views is undoubtedly great, note.

The park provides a plethora of other fantastic alternatives for exploration and adventure around the city.

Also, the park offers a lot of beauty to explore on its wide path network, with sparkling lakes, verdant fields, and tumbling creek-filled woods.

This trek includes two routes, the Cascade Trail and the Wilburn Farm Trail, to provide a completely different experience than the neighboring summit.

On the Cascade Trail, the adventure continues a figure-eight circle to a creek that flows in small waterfalls over wide areas of undulating rock.

The Wilburn Farm Trail next leads to a farmstead with an ancient barn, rope swing, the remnants of a farmhouse, and the grassy, shaded banks of a pond teeming with fish and croaking frogs.

It’s a great trek that combines natural beauty with history and the possibility to see some wildlife along the way.

10. Henline Falls

This is one of the Hiking Trails Near Me With Waterfalls 2023.

Henline Falls

When the rain begins to fall on this short and kid-friendly trek in the Opal Creek region, this waterfall roars with ferocity.

However, it’s a two-mile round-trip hike. And this is through evergreen woodland covered with ferns and moss to the 126-foot vertical curtain of Henline Falls.

The hike enters the Opal Creek Wilderness from the trailhead. Continue straight through two intersections until you reach the falls, which plunge into a small green pool.

Also, if you have children, be cautious towards the finish because the viewing area for the waterfall is narrow and steep.

It is approximately a 55-minute drive from Salem. For 23 miles, take Highway 22 east. At the second yellow flashing light in Mehama, turn left onto North Fork Road.

Continue straight past a junction for 16.8 miles, avoiding Road 2207, which goes to Three Pools. The Henline Falls Trailhead is about 0.1 miles on the left after this crossing.

11. Catawba Falls Trail

This is one of the Hiking Trails Near Me With Waterfalls 2023.

Catawba Falls Trail

The Catawba River’s headwaters are breathtakingly gorgeous.

The river tumbles through a rolling woodland just east of Asheville, falling in a succession of waterfalls and running over a mossy riverbed in a shaded, beautiful area of the Pisgah National Forest.

Also, this great day trek explores waterfall after waterfall in a sun-dappled valley, going a little over two miles through quiet woodland to Catawba Falls, a gushing wall of vivid green moss and water tendrils.

However, the route meanders through quiet woodland, fording many usually shallow crossings to view several minor waterfalls and Catawba Falls, which pours over a multi-tiered, moss-covered rock.

Also, it’s a moderate trek that’s ideal for families with kids, families with dogs, or just about anybody looking for some gorgeous waterfalls.

It’s a little over 2.5 miles roundtrip and has just over 300 feet of elevation gain.

The trek begins at a clearly marked trailhead in Old Fort, just east of Asheville on I-40 (view maps and driving directions).

The trek heads southwest, slipping into a shaded pine and lush fern woodland.

Following yellow trail blazes on a freshly opened piece of the route, the trail reaches the Catawba River after slightly under.2 miles.

The trail spans a metal span bridge over the Catawba River, which was constructed in the summer of 2016, near the base of the moss-encrusted remnants of a stacked-stone powerhouse on the river’s steep banks.

12. Shoshone Falls Trail, ID

Shoshone Falls Trail, ID

Shoshone Falls on the Snake River, which is higher than Niagara Falls at 212 feet and over 1,000 feet broad, puts on a stunning spectacle at any time of year.

The falls are part of the Shoshone Falls/Dierkes Lake Complex, which adds to the falls’ appeal by providing lovely picnic spots in the park that surrounds the falls.

Also, there are several viewing points from which to admire the falls and the gorgeous gorge below, all of which are no more than a 100-foot short walk from the parking lot.

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13. Johnson Ferry Trail

Johnson Ferry Trail

This is one of the Hiking Trails Near Me With Waterfalls 2022.

The Johnson Ferry Trail in metro Atlanta covers a picturesque portion of the Chattahoochee River.

Also, the route travels through a marshy, wildflower-filled swamp, a magnificent riverine forest on the banks of the Chattahoochee, and a tributary creek through a rocky hardwood forest.

A side route follows Mulberry Creek’s pebbles to a tiny waterfall and an incredibly huge rock formation overhanging the creek.

The journey begins at the North Johnson Ferry Trailhead (see maps and driving instructions), where a gravel path leads from the parking area’s northeast corner.

Also, the path splits after traversing a marshy wetland on the left; this walk goes right at the split, following the narrow track eastward toward the Chattahoochee River.

At.2 miles, the route reaches the river’s banks and turns northeast to follow the wide-flowing river upstream.

Views of the river peeking through the thick woodland along the river’s banks occasionally.

The route slowly ascends above the river’s banks, and many trailside seats provide views of the wide, crystalline river.

At.35 miles and.55 miles, the route turns westbound, following the inlets of Arrowhead Creek and Owl Creek as they run into the Chattahoochee River.

The path reaches a gravel road in a clearing at each inlet; after crossing the channel, the trek turns right on a tiny singletrack trail to return to the river’s banks.

14. Cascade De Los Ninos (Opal Creek Trail)

This is one of the Hiking Trails Near Me With Waterfalls 2022. The “children’s waterfall” is one of the most stunning falls on the famous Opal Creek Trail east of Salem.

Cascade De Los Ninos (Opal Creek Trail)

However, the trek follows a gravel road that seems more like a path than a road, snaking beneath hundred-year-old trees along the Little North Santiam River.

Also, the route spans Gold Creek on a 60-foot-tall bridge from the gate/trailhead.

It reaches the former Merton sawmill site after 2 kilometers, which functioned for only two years a half-century ago.

Look for a branch route on the right that will take you a short way to a glimpse of the 30-foot falls roaring out over a large rock ledge.

Return here for a 4-mile trek, or continue another mile to Jawbone Flats, a wilderness hamlet.

Take Note: If you reach the river’s log bridge, you’ve gone too far.

Follow Highway 22 east from Salem for 23 miles to the tiny village of Mehama. Turn left at the second flashing yellow light onto Little North Fork Road.

Follow this 21-mile stretch of paved and gravel as it reaches Forest Road 2209.

Continue straight at a fork with a sign for Three Pools Recreation Lot and park at a big trailhead and parking area on a gated road.

15. Cummins Falls Trail, TN

Cummins Falls Trail, TN

Cummins Falls, at roughly 75 feet high, is one of Tennessee’s highest and biggest falls.

Also, the falls are the major attraction of the 211-acre Cummins Falls State Park, which is located 9 miles from Cookeville on the Blackburn Fork State Scenic River.

However, to get to the falls, climb up the stream bed via the breathtaking Tennessee River Gorge.

The roughly 3-mile track is mostly downhill, which means you’ll have to climb on the way back.

Also, it is treacherous, requires many stream crossings, and is not suitable for beginner hikers. The falls are stunning, and a dip in the swimming hole will be well worth it.

16. Sope Creek Park

Sope Creek Park

Sope Creek Park, located just north of the Chattahoochee River, is a lovely urban retreat nestled in a hardwood forest surrounding Sope Creek, a tumbling tributary of the Chattahoochee River.

The park’smanys hiking, walking, and mountain bike paths twist and roll through a stream-filled woodland, visiting the remnants of a Civil War-era paper mill and exploring the park’s rocky creek.

This one-mile (round trip) trek at Sope Creek Park is ideal for families, winding through a lovely forested forest before dropping to the creek’s picturesque, rocky banks.

The centerpiece of this trek is a visit to the park’s towering stone remains of a paper mill, which was destroyed by Union forces during the Civil War.

The route begins at the park’s trailhead (see maps and driving instructions), and heads northeast on the leftmost trail that leaves the pavement.

The track meanders through a young hardwood forest, following a well-worn dirt road flecked with dappled sunshine from the tree canopy above.

The sounds of falling water reverberate through the trees as the route descends to the banks of Sope Creek.

Green moss and colorful wildflowers add color to the woodland floor throughout the warm months.

This trek also visits the mill’s stacked-stone spillway waterfall and descends to the creek’s banks for some mid-hike rest.

With a one-mile length and a reasonably simple effort, this route is one of metro Atlanta’s most popular walks for families hiking with children.

17. Taughannock Falls Trail, NY

Taughannock Falls, at 215 feet, is 30 feet higher than Niagara Falls and one of New York’s most magnificent waterfalls.

The falls are located in Taughannock Falls State Park and may be reached by hiking a short, flat, and easy route along the gorge’s bottom.

You may also attempt the South Rim Trail, one of two rim routes that are less crowded.

This 1.2-mile route goes along the gorge’s southern rim on a modest slope, with two steep stairs towards the end.

The views from the upper gorge are breathtaking. We may combine this path with the North Rim Trail to form a circular trek around the falls and gorge.

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Summary

Brooks kills, and falls are popular hiking path locations all year, whether for their dazzling icicles, springtime surge, or refreshing summer spray.

The following hiking routes, no matter your level of skill, have magnificent waterfalls and attractions to enjoy.

Some of our best waterfall hikes in Georgia are located deep in the Georgia wilderness and can only be reached by a lengthy, steep climb.

However, not every hiker has the time, stamina, or capacity to traverse a lengthy path, scale steep cliffs, climb hundreds of stairs, or cross rough streams.

Fortunately, North Georgia’s many waterfalls are accessible via trails of varying lengths, and some of Georgia’s greatest waterfall trails are ideal for beginners (or hiking with the family).

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