Flat Creek Falls

Haywood County, North Carolina

Your visit at a glance

Waterfall height: Not recorded
Location: Haywood County, North Carolina
Access status: Partial guide: trail reaches only the brink; no safe viewpoint and the park discourages visits
The walk: About 1.6 miles return to the brink (0.7 mile of trail plus a little over 0.1 mile of side path each way)
Ground & access: Good trail, then a faint side path to slippery rock at the brink. Any descent for a view is an unsanctioned, dangerous scramble through spring wildflower habitat. Difficult rating.

NC Waterfalls: Flat Creek Falls, Smokies

Flat Creek Falls is a steep sliding cascade with a main drop of about 50 feet in Great Smoky Mountains National Park off Heintooga Ridge Road. From the Flat Creek Trailhead, 5.2 miles up Heintooga Ridge Road from the Blue Ridge Parkway at Milepost 458.2, hike Flat Creek Trail 0.7 mile to a faint unsigned side path on the left; it descends a little over 0.1 mile to the creek at the brink. NC Waterfalls states there is no good view from there, the rocks are very slippery, and the scramble paths to lower views are steep and dangerous. The park removed the falls from trail signs for safety and resource protection and prefers that visitors keep away.

Plan your visit

Flat Creek Trail from Heintooga Ridge Road to the side path at the brink of Flat Creek Falls

NC Waterfalls gives 0.7 mile on Flat Creek Trail to the side path and a little over 0.1 mile down the path to the creek at the top of the falls; it lists the hike distance as about 0.9 miles. The full Flat Creek Trail is 5.2 miles round trip per the National Park Service.

Good trail, then a faint side path to slippery rock at the brink. Any descent for a view is an unsanctioned, dangerous scramble through spring wildflower habitat. Difficult rating.

Where to start

Flat Creek Trailhead pullout on the left 5.2 miles up Heintooga Ridge Road from Wolf Laurel Gap (Blue Ridge Parkway Milepost 458.2). Trailhead GPS 35.55411, -83.1639 per NC Waterfalls.

Timing & water

Heintooga Ridge Road is closed in winter. The falls could once be glimpsed from the road in early spring before leaf-out.

Before you go

Great Smoky Mountains National Park. A parking tag is required for vehicles parked more than 15 minutes; check the park website for current rules.

Visitor information

Visit sources

More waterfalls nearby

Within 40 straight-line miles. Road and trail distances will differ.

Explore North Carolina

Waterfall location

Haywood County, North Carolina.

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