Cullasaja Falls, Highlands

Cullasaja Falls is a waterfall in southwestern North Carolina. The waterfall is located on the Cullasaja River in the Nantahala National Forest and is part of the Mountain Waters Scenic Byway. Cullasaja comes from a Cherokee word meaning "honey locust place".GeologyThe falls is the last major waterfall on the Cullasaja River. The falls is a long cascade over the course of 0.2 miles (.3 km).The height of the falls is given as 200 ft (61 m) in Kevin Adams' book, North Carolina Waterfalls and 250 ft (77.1 m) by NCWaterfalls.com. However, Google Earth gives a height (based on the elevation of the water at the top of the falls and the elevation of the plunge pool at the bottom of the falls) of 137 ft (42 m).Visiting the fallsIt is easy to catch a glimpse of the falls while driving by; however, getting a better view of the falls is not easy. The falls are located beside of a series of blind curves on U.S. 64, with sheer rock cliffs above and below the road. There is only one small pull-off near the falls, but walking on the road puts visitors in danger of being hit by a passing vehicle.ActivitiesThough difficult to reach, some use the falls as a place for leisure activities such as swimming (in the pool below) or rappelling. Use our Highlands online trip maker to arrange your visit to Cullasaja Falls and other attractions in Highlands.