Highway 28 in North Carolina is, without a doubt, one of my favorite drives in our region. The multiple, easy-access waterfalls and gorgeous scenery make it a great trip any time of year, but particularly in the fall. As we rush quickly into the peak of fall leaf season, this is a great time to take a hop, skip, and jump north and check out this scenic route.
Between Highlands and Franklin, NC lies a roadway carved into the side of a gorge. Highway 28 follows the Cullasaja River on its journey from Lake Sequoyah down through the Cullasaja Gorge. While the views of the gorge from the Highway are excellent, there is no room to pull off limiting you to viewing the scenic views from inside your car. The main draw of this road, however, is the waterfalls which have easy access. Dry and Bridal Veil falls are the most spectacular, with Quarry and Cullasaja Falls also being visible. I’ll cover them in the order you’ll come to them on the road if driving from Highlands to Franklin.
Bridal Veil Falls: Bridal Veil Falls is a very unique waterfall, in that it is the only waterfall in North Carolina that you can drive your car behind. It doesn’t have very high flow during the summer months (except after a big rain), but it is spectacular and fun to see any time of year.
Dry Falls: Dry Falls is by far the most picturesque of the 4 located on this highway. It also contains the highest flow. It is accessed from a well-marked parking area and a short trail down the steep slopes of the gorge (stairs make this much easier). This is one of few decently-sized waterfalls you can easily walk behind, just be sure to guard any water-sensitive equipment when doing so because the spray will certainly get you wet.
Quarry Falls: Quarry Falls (also known as Bust Your Butt Falls) is a popular swimming location located just down from Dry Falls. There is a large pull-off on the left-hand side of the road where you can access these falls. If you like, you can slide down parts of the main falls (don’t try to slide the whole thing) into the pool at the bottom, or just sunbathe in this fairly sunny area.
Cullasaja Falls: Cullasaja Falls is the tallest of the falls, and the only one I have yet to personally visit. Accessing it is extremely tricky because it is located on a very narrow section of road with extremely limited parking (1 or 2 cars at a time). Also, it is best to visit it when traveling from Fraklin to Highlands, rather than the other way around because of the parking situation. I’ll feature it whenever I get the chance to visit it, but in the meantime feel free to check it out yourself. It looks gorgeous from the pictures I have seen of it.
As you travel past Cullasaja Falls hand your passenger a camera and stick them in the back seat so they can capture the beauty of the Cullasaja Gorge. As I mentioned before, the road is incredibly narrow with no pull-off opportunities in the best long-distance viewing areas, so drive slowly and take it all in.
Highway 28 is a fairly popular route so be prepared for other people, but these pictures were taken on a warm, sunny Sunday afternoon and the roads/trails weren’t badly crowded at all. So next time you want to spend a hot afternoon in a fairly cool location, check out highway 28 from Highlands to Franklin. While you are at it, you can also visit the many shops in downtown Highlands, and check out Whitesides Mountain, which I will feature next time.
I’ll see you on the road (or the trail)…..
~TW
