Plan your weekend

Looking Glass Falls

30 min · easy

A 60-foot waterfall right beside US-276, visible from a roadside observation area with a short stairway down for a closer view. No real hiking, great first stop after the drive.

Sliding Rock

1-2 hours · easy

A natural water slide dropping about 60 feet into a cold pool the Forest Service describes as fast moving and up to 10 feet deep. Lifeguard on duty only Memorial Day through Labor Day. Very popular in summer — go early, bring towels and dry clothes.

Moses Cone Memorial Park carriage trails

2-3 hours · easy

At Blue Ridge Parkway milepost 294. The estate has 25 miles of gently sloping carriage roads that make for easy, wide walking. Walk to Flat Top Tower for a grand panorama of the mountains, or take the path past the Cone Cemetery on the way. The Parkway Craft Center and shop inside Flat Top Manor are open mid-April through November, and the visitor information desk is staffed May through October. Hours can change with the season, so check before you go.

Blowing Rock town

1-2 hours · easy

A small mountain town with a walkable main street of shops and places to eat. It sits high enough that fall color arrives early, so it works well as a base for the foliage drive and an easy place to grab dinner after the Moses Cone walk.

Oconaluftee Visitor Center and Mountain Farm Museum

1-2 hours · easy

The South District entry point near Cherokee, and the right first stop because it sets up the history you will see all weekend. The visitor center has cultural history exhibits, ranger-led programs seasonally, a bookstore, and restrooms. Right next to it, the Mountain Farm Museum is a collection of log structures including a farmhouse, barn, smokehouse, applehouse, and corn crib. It is flat, walkable, and free to wander, which makes it a good leg-stretcher after the drive. Visitor centers in the park are open year-round except Christmas Day.

Deep Creek waterfalls loop

2-3 hours · easy

The best effort-to-reward walk on this side of the park for a family. From the Deep Creek area north of Bryson City, the loop runs 2.4 miles on several short trail segments and reaches three waterfalls: Juney Whank Falls, Indian Creek Falls, and Tom Branch Falls. If you want something shorter, the network has several short segments you can string together, and the two falls closest to the trailhead still give you a good look at Tom Branch and Indian Creek. This is also one of the few places in the park where bicycles are allowed on trails, so it is a good option if part of your group would rather ride. Note that the park does not recommend swimming or tubing in park waters, and says serious water-related injuries happen every year.

DuPont High Falls Loop

2-3 hours · easy

An easy three mile trail along the Little River that passes both High Falls and Triple Falls. High Falls is the largest in the forest, sliding 120 feet down a plane of granite, and it is about a half mile from the visitor center. Start from the High Falls access area at 89 Buck Forest Road in Cedar Mountain. The rules here are stricter than most people expect: no camping anywhere in the forest, no campfires or cooking fires of any kind, and nothing left behind because there are no trash cans. Parking is the real bottleneck, not the trail. Lots are often full by 9:30 in the summer, and the forest service tells visitors to arrive before 9 a.m. or after 5 p.m.

Hooker Falls

30 min · easy

A short walk from the Hooker Falls access area leads to a 12 foot drop into a wide pool, which is why it is one of the busiest spots in the forest in summer. Restrooms and changing rooms are in the parking lot, which matters on a day with kids. The trail is closed to bikes and horses. This is the fall to do first if you want an easy win before the longer loop.

Triple Falls

1 hour · moderate

Triple Falls is viewed from an overlook on the High Falls Loop, an easy to moderate walk along the Little River. You can reach it from either the Hooker Falls or the High Falls access area, and the stretch coming up from Hooker Falls has a steep section. The stairs that used to drop you closer to the water are closed after damage from Tropical Storm Helene in 2024, so the overlook is the view. Check the alerts page at dupontforest.com/alerts/ before you drive, because that is where closures get posted.

Graveyard Fields Loop Trail

2-3 hours · moderate

On the Blue Ridge Parkway (about milepost 418.8). The National Park Service describes it as a reasonable distance for families including children, and it includes two waterfalls plus open field views.

Looking Glass Rock Trail

4-5 hours · strenuous

A 6-mile out-and-back with about 1,700 feet of elevation gain. Rated moderately challenging with a steady climb and a big rock-ledge payoff. A real effort — not the right pick for young children; save it for a capable crew.

Grandfather Mountain

4-5 hours · moderate

A privately run attraction with the Mile-High Swinging Bridge, wildlife habitats, and a nature museum. Admission includes the bridge, trails, and daily programs. Fall 2026 hours vary by date: on peak weekends the park opens at 8am and closes at 7pm, with last entry at 5:30pm and trails closing at 5pm; on weekdays it is 9am to 6pm. Closed Thanksgiving and Christmas. Book tickets ahead, because fall color season is a peak-priced, in-demand window.

Cataloochee Valley and the elk herd

3-4 hours · easy

Cataloochee holds one of the park two main elk herds and a valley of preserved historic buildings, which is a rare combination. Elk were reintroduced here starting in 2001 with 25 animals, followed by 27 more in 2002, and they are the largest animals in the park. The safety rule is a federal regulation, not advice: approaching within 25 yards, or any distance that disturbs or displaces an elk, is illegal and can bring fines and arrest. Stay by the roadside, do not walk into the fields to get closer, and use binoculars or a zoom lens. If an animal stops feeding or changes direction because of you, you are too close. Spotlights, wildlife calls, and feeding wildlife are all prohibited. Bulls and cows with calves will defend territory, so give them room, especially in the fall rut. Add the historic structures: the Beech Grove School, a two-room schoolhouse built in 1901, and Caldwell Place, a barn, springhouse, and two-story framehouse finished by Hiram Caldwell in 1906. A short walk to the Steve Woody House is 2 miles round trip on a wide, well-graded path along a stream. Cataloochee Road is a two-lane gravel road open year-round but subject to closure for snow, ice, and hazardous weather.

Smokemont Campground and the Smokemont area

1-2 hours · easy

Smokemont is one of only two frontcountry campgrounds in the park open year-round, along with Cades Cove, and it is the closest family campground to Oconaluftee Visitor Center in the South District. It sits at 2,198 feet, where winters are mild and summers hot and humid, with 142 sites, tent and RV camping, flush toilets, and drinking water, but no hookups and no showers. Food storage lockers are available year-round. If you are camping here you do not need a parking tag for your own campsite, but you do need one anywhere else you park in the park.

Looking Glass Falls

30 min · easy

Directly off US-276, about six miles north of the Pisgah District Ranger Station, so you see it from the car before you park. There is an accessible top viewing deck and stairs down to the creek. No lifeguard is on duty. Parking is limited and the forest service says plainly: do not park in the road. It is free, open year round, and the easiest big waterfall on this whole trip.

Moore Cove Trail #318

1 hour · easy

A 0.7 mile trail the Forest Service rates easy, and one of the most popular hikes in the Pisgah District. Park along the left hand side of US-276 and look for the information board, because the falls are unsigned from the road. The first 150 feet are moderate and the grade eases after that. A viewing platform at the base lets you see the falls safely rather than scrambling on wet rock.

Sliding Rock

1-2 hours · moderate

A 60 foot natural water slide that ends in a pool 8 to 10 feet deep, with one observation platform. It runs 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. daily, 365 days a year, weather and water levels permitting. Lifeguards and restrooms are on duty seven days a week from Memorial Day through Labor Day, and when the area is not staffed there are no lifeguards and the restrooms are closed. The fee is $6 per person per day and kids 5 and under are free, cash or card. Rules are enforced: if you cannot swim you cannot slide, approved personal flotation devices only, no floats, tubes, noodles or boards, and children under 7 slide with one adult per child. It can close for lightning or high water, and the operator posts closures on social media.

Brevard

half day · easy

Brevard sits in Transylvania County, which calls itself the Land of Waterfalls for the 250 plus cascades in the area, and it is about four miles from the Davidson River area of Pisgah National Forest. It is the practical base for this trip: food, a bed, and a shorter drive to the US-276 corridor than staying in Asheville. Come back into town for the second half of the day after the falls.

Brevard riverwalk

1 hour · easy

A relaxed morning stroll along the Brevard riverwalk before heading home.

Blue Ridge Parkway scenic drive

2-3 hours · easy

The Parkway runs right through the Boone and Blowing Rock area. The National Park Service notes that most trees change color during October, starting on the highest peaks and working down. Around Boone, color typically peaks in the first half of October. Check the current Parkway status page before you go, because sections can close for weather.

Kuwohi and the observation tower

2-3 hours · moderate

Kuwohi is the highest peak in the Smokies and the reason to drive Newfound Gap Road. The name changed: this is the mountain formerly called Clingmans Dome, and the road up is Kuwohi Road, formerly Clingmans Dome Road. From the parking area, the walk to the tower is one mile round trip on a steep paved path, and the tower gives panoramic views across the park. Budget for crowds and full parking, which the park itself warns about and suggests considering a shuttle. If you want a longer hike, Andrews Bald is 3.6 miles round trip descending through high-elevation spruce-fir forest, and Charlies Bunion is 8 miles round trip on the Appalachian Trail. The critical planning detail is the season: Kuwohi Road runs April 1 through November 29 in 2026, and it is subject to closure for snow, ice, and other hazardous weather, so a spring or late-fall trip needs a check on the day.

Rainbow Falls Trail

3-4 hours · strenuous

The strenuous day, and the one worth the effort. Start at the Grassy Ridge access and visitor center, 976 Grassy Ridge Road in Sapphire. The trail is 1.5 miles one way, rated strenuous by NC State Parks, hiking only and not accessible, and it ends at Rainbow Falls, a 150 foot drop on the Horsepasture River. Gorges charges no day use fee, but the gate is locked at the posted closing hour, so plan around it: the park is open 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. May through September and 7 a.m. to 9 p.m. in April and October. The park also has an active bear population year round, so store food in a vehicle or camper.

Turtleback Falls

1 hour · moderate

On the same Gorges trail system as Rainbow Falls, a cascade over a curved rock outcrop into a pool below. It is a popular swimming spot in summer and it is also the most dangerous place on this itinerary, because the trail passes near the top of the falls. Do not approach the top and do not leave the main trail. View it from below.

Upper Whitewater Falls

1 hour · easy

South of Cashiers on NC-107, a 411 foot plunge that the Forest Service calls the highest waterfall east of the Rockies. Day use is $3 per vehicle, or $15 for an annual pass that also covers Dry Falls and Whiteside Mountain. There are no restrooms and no potable water at the site, so come prepared. The Forest Service says it sees extremely high visitor volume midday and on holidays, and recommends morning or late afternoon, which makes it a clean last stop if you hit Rainbow Falls early.