The ultimate guide to hiking upper whitewater falls at Lake Jocassee

Living in Charleston, there’s a plethora of things to do — from exploring historic downtown, to soaking up the sun at one of the many surrounding beaches — but we’d been craving mountain scenery, challenging hikes, and an escape into nature. We decided to research scenic hiking trails in South Carolina, and were surprised to learn that only half a days drive away is the highest waterfall east of the Rockies. Soon after that we were on the road for a weekend camping trip, where we took a short and sweet hike to the Upper Whitewater Falls at Lake Jocassee.

Nantahala National Forest

Fees:
$3 per vehicle

Annual Pass:
$15 per vehicle

For trail conditions, visit:
https://www.fs.usda.gov/detail/nfsnc/

Level: Beginner

Length: .6 miles

Route type: Out and back

Elevation gain: 101.7

Best time to visit: April-October

Dogs allowed: Yes

BEFORE YOU HIKE

As with all hikes, beginner or advanced, make sure you check trail conditions prior to going. Climbing in inclement weather can be hazardous, and we don’t recommend wandering away from the maintained trail, especially if there’s rain. We also recommended using the AllTrails app to help you search for the best places to take a hike (anywhere!), download maps for offline use, and more!

Where are the Upper Whitewater Falls?

The Upper Whitewater Falls are a 90 minute drive from Asheville, 75 minutes from Greenville, 45 from the Getaway cabin outpost on Lake Hartwell (where we stayed), and a 30 minute drive from Devil’s Fork State Park in Lake Jocassee. These falls span the border between North Carolina and South Carolina, with the Upper Falls in the former and Lower Falls in the latter. The falls are part of North Carolina’s Gorges State Park, situated in the Nantahala National Forest, and maintained by the US Forest Service. This park can be accessed on NC 281 or, for our rugged readers, the 84 mile Foothills Trail.

What To Expect

Take the Whitewater Falls Overlook Trail to viewpoint one and two, where you’ll have a spectacular view of the 811 ft tall waterfalls!

Viewpoint 1: From the parking lot, follow the paved pathway to the first overlook. This walkway is wheelchair accessible, and very easy to navigate — even the elderly were present along the route. From this vantage point, you’ll have a distant view of the falls.

Viewpoint 2: To the right of the fence, take 154 stairs down to the second viewing platform. These steps are well maintained, but as with all wooden steps they may be slick in wet weather. When you reach this overlook, you’ll notice the stairs will continue descending about 600 ft in elevation to Foothills Trail, where you’ll be able to view the Whitewater River, but no waterfall views can be seen.

Viewpoint 3: After climbing back up the staircase, to the left of the first viewpoint is the trail to the third, which takes you to the top of the 811 ft falls. It’s not encouraged to continue onto this hike, and in fact, the US Forest Service advises against it, with signage stating that it’s dangerous and fatalities have occurred. As we were hoping for a closer view of the falls and are typically up for a challenging hike, we decided to give it a try. However, we found that the trail is not well maintained, and due to the lack of mile markers, as well as the overgrown and unkept terrain, decided to turn back. We don’t recommend continuing onto this viewpoint, but you won’t be missing much — we’d later read the views aren’t worth it.

Ascent/Descent

The Upper Whitewater Falls are 411 ft tall, while the Lower falls are 400 ft, for a combined 811 ft. Whitewater Falls Overlook Trail is a short, .6 mile hike with an elevation gain of 101.7 ft. If you continue to the third viewpoint, it’s a 1.2 mile round trip with an elevation gain of 216 ft.

How long does it take to hike?

An out-and-back hike, Whitewater Falls Overlook Trail should take about 30 minutes to complete, at a leisurely pace. This excludes the hike to viewpoint three, as well as the descent to Foothills Trail. Take your time, the path is mostly shaded and the first landing is a great place to eat your lunch. Benches are stationed along the way if you need a rest.

Parking and entrance fees

Parking is spacious at the trail access. There’s a cash-only $3 entrance fee, payable via envelope at an honor box. Make sure to keep the stub on the dashboard of your vehicle as attendants do periodically check.

What to wear

If you’re only hiking Whitewater Falls Overlook Trail (to viewpoints one and two), you should be fine simply wearing sneakers, as it’s primarily a paved road and boardwalk-style stairs. Hiking boots and additional gear are only necessary if you take the risk hiking to the third viewpoint or Foothills Trail.

Best Time To Visit

We recommend visiting in the early morning hours, and arriving prior to 9am for the least amount of crowds. Only a few cars were in the lot when we arrived, but by midday, visitor volume was extremely high — when we returned from our hike, the first viewpoint was crowded with tourists and the parking lot was packed.

We completed this hike late summer, and thought the first two viewpoints were beautiful! It had rained the night prior to our hike, so the many cascades were full. We imagine it would be similar in the Spring after snowmelt.