The Appalachian Mountains stretch 1,500 miles from Alabama to Maine, and in that distance they collect more rainfall than almost anywhere in the eastern United States. All that water has to go somewhere — and it goes over waterfalls.
The famous ones get written about everywhere. Niagara is 3,000 miles away. Here are 12 Appalachian waterfalls that deserve to be famous but aren't.
Crabtree Falls, Virginia At 1,200 feet of cascading water, Crabtree Falls in the Blue Ridge Mountains is the highest waterfall east of the Mississippi. The 2.8-mile round trip to the top passes five major cascades. It's not technically one waterfall but a series that together form one of the most dramatic displays of falling water in the East. On weekdays in the off-season, you may have the entire trail to yourself.
Linville Falls, North Carolina Two separate falls drop into Linville Gorge, one of the deepest gorges in the eastern U.S. The upper falls are broad and accessible; the lower falls plunge 60 feet into a deep plunge pool. Trails reach viewpoints from multiple angles. Most hikers take the easiest route — hike all four to see perspectives that most visitors miss.
Laurel Falls, Tennessee The most-visited waterfall in Great Smoky Mountains National Park — but that's relative. The paved 2.6-mile trail is busy in summer, but arrive at 7am and you'll have it nearly to yourself. The 80-foot falls split around a central rock formation.
Helton Creek Falls, Georgia Two-tiered waterfall on a small creek in the Blue Ridge Mountains of north Georgia. The lower falls are 20 feet; the upper falls are 50 feet and considerably more dramatic. The short trail is often overlooked because it's not in any major park.
DeSoto Falls, Alabama In DeSoto State Park on Lookout Mountain, Little River drops 100 feet in one of the most powerful single-drop waterfalls in the Southeast. Little River is the only river in the U.S. that flows almost entirely on top of a mountain.
Blackwater Falls, West Virginia The Blackwater River — stained dark brown by tannic acid from fallen hembers and spruce needles — drops 57 feet over a sandstone ledge. In autumn, when the maples and birches flame red and gold around the dark water, it's one of the most photographed landscapes in West Virginia. In winter, the falls partially freeze.
Taughannock Falls, New York In the Finger Lakes region, Taughannock Falls drops 215 feet — three feet higher than Niagara. The waterfall sits at the end of a 1.5-mile gorge walk with 400-foot walls. It's not hidden exactly, but it's in a part of New York that most people associate with wine tasting rather than waterfalls.
Bash Bish Falls, Massachusetts The highest single-drop waterfall in Massachusetts (60 feet) sits on the Connecticut border in the Taconic Mountains. The falls split around a central boulder before dropping into a deep, clear pool. Swimming is officially prohibited but universally practiced.