Mount Hardy Falls
Haywood County, North Carolina
Your visit at a glance
- Waterfall height
- 98 ft (30 m)
- Location
- Haywood County, North Carolina
- Access status
- Unblazed wilderness trail and short bushwhack; needs high water
- The walk
- About 1.1 miles each way to the base; Waterfall Hero lists 2.9 miles for the hike including a viewpoint farther along the MST
- Ground & access
- Wilderness trail that is not signed or blazed and may be faint, creek crossings, then a short bushwhack. Rocks are very slippery.
Mount Hardy Falls is a 100-foot waterfall on a tributary of the West Fork Pigeon River in Middle Prong Wilderness. From the pull-off, walk a short way down NC 215 to where the Mountains-to-Sea Trail enters the woods on the left. Cross a small creek and Bubbling Spring Branch, follow the MST right above the road, through an open field, and bear left back into the woods to an easy crossing of the West Fork Pigeon River headwaters, 1 mile from the start. Leave the MST and bushwhack about 0.1 miles up the tributary on the right to the base. For a distant view, continue 0.3 miles west on the MST past a right-hand switchback.
Plan your visit
NC 215 pull-off north of the Blue Ridge Parkway, Mountains-to-Sea Trail into Middle Prong Wilderness, then a short bushwhack up a tributary
Waterfall Hero gives 1 mile on the MST to the West Fork Pigeon River crossing, then about 0.1 miles of bushwhack to the base. A distant view is 0.3 miles farther west on the MST.
Wilderness trail that is not signed or blazed and may be faint, creek crossings, then a short bushwhack. Rocks are very slippery.
Where to start
Large pull-off on the left side of NC 215 northbound, just under half a mile north of the Blue Ridge Parkway (about 0.4 miles from the Parkway).
Timing & water
Needs high water; otherwise a trickle. Current conditions not verified.
Before you go
No fee. Wilderness rules: no campfires, groups of 10 or fewer, no bicycles.
Visitor informationVisit sources
More waterfalls nearby
Within 40 straight-line miles. Road and trail distances will differ.
- Lower Bubbling Spring Branch FallsShort unofficial creekside path with crossingsHaywood County, NC0.5 miSE
- Upper Bubbling Spring Branch FallsNational forest; short creekside path with several crossingsHaywood County, NC0.5 miSE
- Little Wildcat FallsRoadside view; needs high waterHaywood County, NC0.6 miNE
- Split FallsHaywood County, NC0.8 miNE
- Bubbling Spring Branch CascadesShort roadside scramble documented by two firsthand sourcesHaywood County, NC0.9 miNE
- Upper Buckeye FallsHaywood County, NC0.9 miNW
- Lower Wildcat FallsNational forest; steep off-trail descent and river crossing39 ft (12 m) · Haywood County, NC1.0 miNE
- Middle Wildcat FallsHaywood County, NC1.1 miNE
- Wildcat FallsForest trail to a bridge at the falls197 ft (60 m) · Haywood County, NC1.1 miNE