This past weekend, we decided to check out the hiking trails at Catawba Falls in Black Mountain, North Carolina. And I didn't realize this until after our outing, but these falls have made some headlines over the years – because apparently, the hiking here is a little bit dangerous.
A quick Google search will reveal dozens of articles detailing injuries and deaths at these falls. And things here got so bad that in 2022, that the US Forest Service closed down the trails for two years order to install additional safety measures, such as boardwalks, outlooks, and staircases.
So naturally, it was these treacherous trails that we decided to bring a four-year-old and puppy to spend an afternoon. And while we had zero intention of traversing the more dangerous off-trail elements, we wanted to hike the reopened trail nonetheless. So bright and early Saturday morning (more like 9 AM because we overslept), we loaded up the car and made our way eastward to check out the popular waterfall hiking destination.
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Hiking the Catawba Falls, Western North Carolina's Dangerous Waterfall Trails
Arriving at the Falls
When we arrived at the trailhead, we found two trails to choose from: the Ridge Trail and the River Trail. And of course, we failed to do our research ahead of time, so upon arrival, we had no idea which trail to pick.
Thankfully, there was this helpful trail map positioned at the entrance. And although the fine print recommended beginning with the 1.5-mile River Trail, we didn't notice this recommendation until later – so we decided to tackle the 2.1-mile Ridge Trail first.
Hiking the Ridge Trail
The Ridge Trail was 2.1 miles of mostly-uphill climbing – and this climb was steep. Far steeper than we anticipated. And it was quite slippery, too, thanks to the morning rain shower that had passed through shortly before we arrived.
This trail was actually way more challenging than I thought it would be. When I saw 2.1 miles on the trailhead map, I thought it wouldn’t be that bad... But I was wrong. My heart rate was in the 130-140 range pretty much the entire time. And I couldn’t even imagine doing this trail in the dead of summer – although, it would be a great way to shed some water weight quickly.
The Catawba Falls
It took us nearly an hour to complete the Ridge Trail, but as we approached the end of the first 2.1-mile trek, the roar of the waterfall grew louder and louder. And we followed this sound right to the base of the Upper Falls, a fifty-foot free-fall carved into the mountainside.
There were a lot of people there when we arrived. Most were standing on the observation deck taking pictures, while a few were swimming in the pool at the base of waterfall. But of course, despite the signs posted literally everywhere saying "do not climb on the rocks," a couple fratty-looking bros just couldn't help themselves and were doing exactly that – climbing on the rocks.
related reading: Catawba Falls Trail
Hiking the River Trail
After taking a break and snagging some pictures at the Upper Falls, we began the 1.5-mile return hike back to the trailhead. More narrow than the Ridge Trail, the River Trail largely entailed crossing over boardwalks and bridges, while descending hundreds of stairs. (580 stairs, to be exact.)
And I know the trailhead map said to do this part of the hike first, but I disagree. Going down the stairs was a lot. I couldn’t even imagine going up that many stairs.
related reading: Catawba Falls Trail
Raleigh, who's terrified of everything, wasn't too keen on the stairs at first. But only once did she need an airlift to bypass part of the manmade trail. (Albeit, it was an airlift down three flights of stairs.)
But aside from Raleigh's of moment of metal-staircase-induced panic, both the doggo and kiddo were total troopers for the five-hundred stair passage.
After reaching the end of the staircase portion of the River Trail, we came upon the final stretch of the hike: a relatively-flat gravel path that ran alongside the river. And after 90 minutes of slipping and sliding up and down the many up-and-downs, walking on flat ground was a nice (and welcome) change.
In total, the 3.5-mile roundtrip the to Catawba Falls and back took us about 2 hours later to complete. And when we returned to the car with muddy shoes and paws, we were tired, sweaty, and quite ready for a good snack.