Wolf Creek Falls
Cocke County, Tennessee
Your visit at a glance
- Waterfall height
- 30 ft (9.1 m)
- Location
- Cocke County, Tennessee
- Access status
- Partial guide: unofficial approaches and long gravel roads; exact falls not confirmed by coordinates
- The walk
- Less than 1/4 mile from the forest road parking, or 3.5 miles each way from the Wolf Creek Road trailhead, per two visitor accounts
- Ground & access
- Short path to the falls from the forest road. The longer trail is unblazed, gains a little over 1,000 feet, and has four creek crossings that can be rock-hopped in normal flow.
Wolf Creek Falls is a waterfall on Wolf Creek in Cherokee National Forest in Cocke County, near the North Carolina line. Visitor accounts describe two approaches. The short one needs a long, rough drive on narrow gravel forest roads from the Max Patch area toward Rattlesnake Gap; just before a creek crossing, park at a dirt road on the left and walk less than 1/4 mile to the top of the falls, with a short path down to the base. The longer one starts at the Wolf Creek Road trailhead off Highway 25 between Hot Springs, North Carolina, and Del Rio, Tennessee, and follows an unblazed trail mostly beside the creek with four rock-hop crossings. Neither approach is described by an official source, the forest road names are not given, and the exact falls is not confirmed, so this is a partial guide.
Plan your visit
National forest gravel roads past Max Patch and Rattlesnake Gap to a dirt side road before a creek crossing, then a short walk to the top and base of the falls; or a longer unblazed trail from the Wolf Creek Road trailhead off US 25/70
One visitor account says to walk less than 1/4 mile from a forest road parking spot to the top of the falls. Another describes a 3.5-mile out-and-back hike (7.0 miles total) from the Wolf Creek Road trailhead off Highway 25.
Short path to the falls from the forest road. The longer trail is unblazed, gains a little over 1,000 feet, and has four creek crossings that can be rock-hopped in normal flow.
Where to start
Dirt road pull-off on the left just before a creek crossing on the gravel forest road below Rattlesnake Gap, per one visitor account; or the Wolf Creek Road trailhead off Highway 25, per another. A passenger car will find the forest roads very rough.
Timing & water
Gravel forest roads in this area are best avoided in bad weather. Creek crossings are harder in high water.
Before you go
No fee is mentioned.
Visitor informationVisit sources
More waterfalls nearby
Within 40 straight-line miles. Road and trail distances will differ.
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- Dudley FallsSource-reviewed roadside view and parking10 ft (3 m) · Greene County, TN7.5 miNE
- Little Fall Branch FallsPartial: short informal path; exact spot not publishedHaywood County, NC8.1 miS
- Kelly FallsPartial guide: usual access road closed by flood damage; alternate drive to the falls not described12 ft (3.6 m) · Greene County, TN8.8 miNE
- Buzzard Roost Falls130 ft (39.6 m) · Cocke County, TN14 miW
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