Lower Laurel Fork Falls
Transylvania County, North Carolina
Your visit at a glance
- Waterfall height
- Not recorded
- Location
- Transylvania County, North Carolina
- Access status
- Unofficial creekside path with a rock ledge; short scramble to the creek
- The walk
- About 1 mile return
- Ground & access
- Unofficial path, partly overgrown in summer, with downed logs, a slippery rock ledge and a sidehill descent to the creek. Please do not climb the mossy rocks.
Walk back over the concrete bridge and look for a faint path on the left. Skip the one immediately after the bridge and take the next one, 5 to 10 steps farther. The path first heads away from the creek and returns to it at about 0.1 to 0.2 miles. At about 0.4 miles there is a seeping rock ledge. To reach the falls safely, drop at an angle down to the creek just before the rock wall, then scramble up for a view of the 25-foot falls. Return the same way.
Plan your visit
Forest Road 475 pull-off at the Laurel Fork bridge, unofficial path up Laurel Fork to Lower Laurel Fork Falls
Waterfall Hero reaches the rock wall above the falls at about 0.5 miles. Rich Stevenson puts the rock ledge at about 0.4 miles with the falls about 100 yards beyond.
Unofficial path, partly overgrown in summer, with downed logs, a slippery rock ledge and a sidehill descent to the creek. Please do not climb the mossy rocks.
Where to start
Small pull-off on the left just after the concrete bridge over Laurel Fork, 4.8 miles up Forest Road 475 from US 276 (the road toward the Pisgah Center for Wildlife Education). Room for about 2 vehicles. Published coordinates: 35.27909, -82.84265.
Timing & water
No closure is stated. The Forest Service storm-damage page does not name Forest Road 475 among closed Pisgah Ranger District roads. The accounts are from 2017 and 2018. Check the water level at the bridge; low water means a weak falls.
Before you go
Pisgah National Forest; no fee is stated by the sources. Dogs must be leashed, according to Waterfall Hero.
Visitor informationVisit sources
More waterfalls nearby
Within 40 straight-line miles. Road and trail distances will differ.
- Gemini FallsPartial guide: unofficial path then a difficult trail-less climb; experienced off-trail hikers onlyTransylvania County, NC0.3 miNW
- Laurel Fork FallsPartial: no trail for the last half mile; difficult bushwhack52 ft (16 m) · Transylvania County, NC0.5 miW
- Sassafras Knob FallsTransylvania County, NC0.6 miW
- Shuck Ridge Creek FallsLong Forest Service trail hike with a steep scramble to the baseTransylvania County, NC1.3 miNW
- Upper Toms Spring FallsNational forest loop on a forest road and trailTransylvania County, NC1.4 miNE
- Long Branch FallsGated forest road walk with a short steep side path; two firsthand sources agreeTransylvania County, NC1.4 miE
- Toms Spring FallsNational forest gated road; easy walkTransylvania County, NC1.4 miNE
- Upper Kiesee FallsPartial guide: the access road is closed and the path may have changed since loggingTransylvania County, NC1.8 miW
- Kiesee FallsPartial guide: access road closed for storm damage; bushwhack with an exposed rock faceTransylvania County, NC1.8 miW