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\<iSi<) VISIT
By Robert L. Williams
The waterfalls of western North Carolina, including
Bridal Veil Falls (right), reward visitors with some of
state's most spectacular sights and exhilarating experiences.
When the urge to travel
through western North Car¬
olina hits, your major task
usually is to try to choose the best
possible spot.
It’s not an easy chore in light of the
thousands of attractive possibilities.
And while it is impossible to select
one single place that could be defended
as the finest in the state, you can make
a good case for Dry Falls, between
Highlands and Franklin.
Take the word of virtually anyone
who has had the great fortune to visit
Dry Falls on a good day — and there
are no bad days there.
The entire region, in fact, is filled
with waterfalls of a variety of dimen¬
sions that reward visitors with easy
access to some dramatic sights.
Looking Glass Falls can be found
right beside the road on Highway 276
just north of Brevard. You can see it
from your car. and it's an easy walk to
the base of the falls, which are 30 feet
wide and 85 feet high, with a great pool
beneath and photo opportunities from
every angle.
In an areajust off Highway 64 west
of Highlands at the top of the Culla-
saja Gorge — known locally by its
Indian name as the Kalakaleskies
area — you can find 18 small water¬
falls within a quarter of a mile.
And if you want higher falls, try
Whitewater Falls nine miles south of
Sapphire and 23 miles from High¬
lands. The falls, which are located
near Oakland between Cashiers and
Lake Toxaway off U.S. 64. are broken
into two cascades, and in the upper
one, the river plunges 4 1 3 feet into the
gorge below — the highest waterfall
east of the Mississippi.
And not far from Dry Falls, you can
see — and drive your car under —
Bridal Veil Falls, which are 120 feet
high and plunge over the old road on
U.S. 64 near Highlands.
But the real prize just may be Dry
Falls. They may also be one of the best-
kept secret beauty spots in the Caro¬
lina mountains. Few people you run
into seem to know of their existence,
much less the best way to reach them.
But you can find them simply by
driving along U.S. 64 between High¬
lands and Franklin, through the Cul-
lasaja Gorge. When you see the sign
that proclaims “Scenic Area — Dry
Falls," you’ll know you’ve arrived.
Turn off the highway, drive a few
feet to a large parking area and then
take a 30-second walk down an easy
trail to the waterfall, and you’re there.
What makes Dry Falls so special?
First of all. any waterfall is special.
Consider that every day for millions of
years, the mountain rocks have
yielded their trickles of water from
countless crevices, that these trickles
form rills and that the rills become
rivers pouring millions of gallons of
water over the cliffs 24 hours a day,
every day. And that water has carved,
gouged and shaped the entire face of
the mountains.
But Dry Falls are something more.
Dry Falls, of course, are not dry. But
over the millions of years, the water
that clung to the rocks and seeped
down the underside of the cliff has left
a relatively dry area behind the falls
with enough room to shelter a me¬
dium-sized Sunday school class.
You can follow the easy trail down
to the falls and then under the falls,
and the worst you can expect are occa¬
sional sprays of mist from the churn¬
ing water. And once you are there, you
Photo b, RotH.nl. Wilkim.
Tt* Slile/Apnl sk
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