Cancel

    Open app

    Search

    Linville Falls

    4.6 (48 reviews)

    Linville Falls Photos

    Recommended Reviews - Linville Falls

    Your trust is our priority, so businesses can't pay to alter or remove their reviews. Learn more about reviews.
    Yelp app icon
    Browse more easily on the app
    Review Feed Illustration

    Reviews With Photos

    Linville Falls Signage
    Matthew S.

    Big parking area and a ranger station that leads to the falls. There are two different trails, one more difficult than the other. It was a cool day and sunny. Which made a beautiful morning hike. We enjoyed the falls

    Viewing area at the top of the waterfall
    Lauren M.

    We visited after very heavy rain so the water was rushing like crazy! Some parts of the trail were also very muddy - highly suggest some hiking boots if you visit after some rain! We parked in the lot that was not near the visitor center (seems like there are a few different lots you can park in), and had a short walk to the top of the falls. We also went to two other lookout points and had some beautiful views of the falls and surrounding area! We saw lots of people at lower parts of the falls, so there had to be a number of other trails that we didn't get to explore.

    Brittany K.

    Lovely hike that is suitable for most people. I would rate it somewhere in between easy and moderate depending on your fitness level but no matter what, the views and surrounding nature are worth your while. There are four viewpoints on the trail and you can pick and choose for shorter distances or tackle all four. If you do decide to visit the lower portions, be prepared for the trek back up. Make sure you have good supportive shoes. The trail/steps were muddy and very slippery in some areas but with proper footwear, nothing terribly treacherous. The trailhead seemed to have ample parking and there was a visitor center with maps and restrooms. Water bottles were available for purchase but I highly recommend coming prepared with water and snacks as there aren't any restaurants nearby. Give it a try and have fun!

    Linville Falls
    Dee Y.

    So I'm not one that honestly enjoys hiking. I'm more of a hiking complainer ... but thought I'd give it a go to see the falls after visiting the caverns. 1/2 my crew did just the lower falls while the other went on up to Chimney View. I only did the lower falls and the path was extra wide and clear. It was downhill to the falls which meant it was uphill to get back to the car. Oh my legs ... but honestly it's only 0.5 miles down and 0.5 miles up. Good hike for us non-hikers!!

    Split fall
    Boon C.

    This fall is part of the visitor center at Blueridge. This falls is very beautiful along Blueridge Parkway. This visitor center is at Blueridge mile marker 316. The mile marker is actual count up from north to south. The trail to see the falls has two trails. The Plunge Basin and Erwin View trails. If you like to take a dip, the the plunge trail. It is take you to river bottom to lower falls. It will be a shoreline walk to the falls. The best view to see the upper and lower falls is the Erwin Trail. It is 0.8 mile upward trail. It is the best trail to see the gorge with good walk to the hill top. It will good cover trail. The chimney overlook will give a good view to see the lower falls. The trail is about 1.5 hours round trip. However, the scenery is amazing. It is definitely a good area for a stop.

    Anita W.

    Linville Falls is one of my favorite stops off the Parkway. Beginners hiking trail to the falls from the parking lot, nothing too extreme. Gorgeous scenery every step of the way! My only downfall is their restrooms.. very disgusting. Each year I stop, it doesn't look likes it's ever been cleaned. Needs an update and tons of bleach! They are so tiny and narrow.. Other than the restroom area, it's not a long walk at all to the falls, then you can climb a litter more to the upper falls. Very beautiful!

    Andrew V.

    One of the best stops on the blue ridge parkway Visited here three times Better weather each time

    Stephanie J.

    Beautiful views but this place can get packed! We took our dog and had a blast, we went to all of the overlooks. The difficulty level of this hike is easy.

    Upper Falls
    David E.

    Nice falls within a short walk My wife and I were recently traveling down the Blue Ridge Parkway. One of the stops I had wanted to see was Linville Falls. One of the nice factors about seeing Linville Falls is that it is within easy access from the Parkway, and the Parking Lot. Since it is a relatively short and not challenging walk from the parking lot, more folks can easily see the beauty of the Falls. During our visit, I saw a wide range of folks from young kids (and dogs) to grandparents - all walking to and from the Falls. Before we went, I had thought there was only one Fall. Oh, no. There were four different Falls in the same area. You could easily go to the Upper Falls (closest to the Parking Lot), but if you wanted to and had the time (alas, we did not), you can go further down the trail for: Chimney View, Plunge Basin, and Duggers Creek. Although I only had time for the Upper Falls, it was well worth the short trip down the trail. If I had had more time, I would have gone on farther to see some of the other Falls. Who knows? Maybe you will be able to see all four. I know I enjoyed what I saw, you will too. Put this stop on your trip down the Blue Ridge Parkway. We were glad that we did.

    Joe A.

    Very nice place to take a hike at mile marker 316 on the Blue ridge parkway is Linville falls. There are several trails that are short and easy but combined you can make for a longer trip.

    Jacqueline T.

    This is a easy to moderately difficult hike. It's not very long either. The beginning is pretty flat and then it gets a little steep toward the end to go down to the falls. The view is really awesome. We weren't able to go down to the lower closer viewpoint because it rained and the water was too high. The cow we did see was pretty far away, cut it was still really cool to see a large canyon-like view. I'd definitely recommend this quick hike if you're looking for a good waterfall view.

    Upper Falls
    Richard R.

    Did you know that the Atlas Mountains in Northern Africa were once part of the Appalachian Mountains here in North America? I didn't either before visiting Linville Falls, but apparently this entire area is rich in geological history! THE HISTORY Back 335 million years ago when the super continents of Gondwanaland and Euramerica collided, they forms one massive continent called Pangaea. When they collided, the tectonic plates below thrusted rock billions of years old upward. The force continued to uplift and buckle the entire region for hundreds of centuries. These mountains were once near the center of Pangaea until slowly the supercontinent separated into the seven continents we are familiar with today. Part of the Appalachian Mountains remained with Africa (Morocco and Algeria) as it broke away from North America. Cool huh? Linville Falls is located along one of those upwards thrusts known as the Linville Falls Fault. The thrust sent older rock from deeper in the earth over younger rock. Near the upper falls overlook you can see the older rock in an area that looks carved out by water. The geology of the area is incredible as you see clear evidence of the upwards thrust not only at the falls, but the enormous cliffs all around it leading to Grandfather Mountain. THE EXPERIENCE Linville Falls is said to be about 1.6 miles round trip to the plunge falls overlook, but it certainly doesn't feel like it. I really think someone has a broken measuring stick! But no matter what the distance is, this is a beautiful waterfall worthy of the hike. There are several different trails from the visitor center and also another trail from a secondary parking area. It was from here we followed the trail that leads to the upper falls. PLEASE NOTE the overlook deck for the upper falls has been destroyed. Seems that a recent storm created such a powerful river overflow that it washed all kinds of timbers and debris onto the deck, in turn knocking over the railing. However, there is a second overlook deck that remained in tact. A fallen sign near the overlook gave me this information: --- LINVILLE FALLS - EXPOSING OUR FAULTS A thrust fault is an area where one layer of rock has been thrust upwards and overtop of another layer. An excellent exposure of the Linville Falls Thrust Fault lies directly beyond this sign. The Cranberry Gneiss (1 billion years old) was thrusted over the Chilhowee Quartzite (550 Million years old). The mixture of the two formed a layer called Mylonite (300 million years old). Standing here, you can actually see layers of rocks that were formed half a billion years apart! --- The plunging lower fall is one of the most unique I've ever seen as the river funnels into a narrow & curved channel, then finding its way to an opening in-between two towering walls of stone. Because of these walls of stone, the lower falls cannot be seen from THIS observation area and you must hike further down the trail to one of the other overlooks. I also saw people at the bottom of the gorge near the base of the falls. they followed a trail on the Visitor Center side to the gorge base, which is rated as strenuous. FINAL THOUGHTS All three waterfall overlooks are hanging on the edge of cliffsides, so if you are fearful of heights I'd advise you not to look over the man-made stone walls. There are more overlooks further down the trail that give views of the Linville Gorge (which is the deepest gorge in the eastern United States). BOTTOM LINE, this is a beautiful waterfall (created by an ancient thrust fault) located along a river that flows through Linville Gorge, the "Grand Canyon of the Southern Appalachians". Definitely a must if traveling the gorgeous Blue Ridge Parkway. 2018/61

    Tracie P.

    Linville Falls is a high volume, dramatic waterfall in the Asheville area. Located directly off the Blue Ridge parkway, there are multiple trail options to see the falls. An easier trail will take you to a couple of high overlooks where you can see the falls from a distance and the Gorge. If you want to go to the base of the falls, it's a strenuous, rocky hike to the plunge basin. It's only a half mile down, but the terrain makes it slow going and at several points there are large trees obstructing the trail (one of which you will have to climb over). Once you get your pictures at the base of the falls, you'll need some serious stamina to make the climb back up. The views are worth it, but the hike is a bit difficult, especially if it is wet.

    Beautiful Cascades

    See all

    Photo of Melissa B.
    1279
    2704
    33391

    2 years ago

    Helpful 2
    Thanks 0
    Love this 4
    Oh no 0

    2 years ago

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0

    9 months ago

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0

    2 years ago

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0

    4 years ago

    Helpful 1
    Thanks 0
    Love this 1
    Oh no 0

    4 years ago

    Helpful 2
    Thanks 0
    Love this 1
    Oh no 0

    5 years ago

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0

    4 years ago

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0

    8 years ago

    Helpful 16
    Thanks 0
    Love this 11
    Oh no 0

    8 years ago

    Helpful 1
    Thanks 0
    Love this 3
    Oh no 0

    4 years ago

    Beautiful place to do an easy hike. Kid friendly and dog friendly. Plenty of parking. Bring drinks and food,there is nothing there to buy.

    Helpful 4
    Thanks 0
    Love this 2
    Oh no 0
    Photo of Andrew V.
    14
    215
    2238

    5 years ago

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0

    7 years ago

    Helpful 4
    Thanks 0
    Love this 5
    Oh no 0

    7 years ago

    Helpful 3
    Thanks 0
    Love this 1
    Oh no 0

    3 years ago

    Helpful 1
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0

    5 years ago

    Helpful 3
    Thanks 0
    Love this 3
    Oh no 0

    8 years ago

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0
    Photo of Richard R.
    4995
    1572
    25885

    8 years ago

    Helpful 142
    Thanks 0
    Love this 139
    Oh no 0

    5 years ago

    Helpful 1
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0

    2 years ago

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0
    Photo of Bill W.
    5000
    1586
    20560

    11 years ago

    Helpful 9
    Thanks 0
    Love this 8
    Oh no 0

    8 years ago

    Helpful 1
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0
    Photo of Tay E.
    11
    358
    759

    6 years ago

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0
    Photo of NC F.
    0
    18
    8

    3 years ago

    Easy hike, gorgeous waterfall, amazing views! Take your camera as you will want to capture pictures of this beautiful place!

    Helpful 1
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0

    7 years ago

    Helpful 1
    Thanks 0
    Love this 1
    Oh no 0

    6 years ago

    Helpful 1
    Thanks 0
    Love this 1
    Oh no 0
    Photo of Evan G.
    128
    4800
    28754

    7 years ago

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0

    8 years ago

    Helpful 2
    Thanks 0
    Love this 2
    Oh no 0

    11 years ago

    Helpful 1
    Thanks 0
    Love this 1
    Oh no 0

    8 years ago

    Helpful 1
    Thanks 0
    Love this 1
    Oh no 0

    10 years ago

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0
    Photo of Marek F.
    17
    144
    233

    11 years ago

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 0
    Love this 1
    Oh no 0
    Photo of Irina S.
    0
    56
    137

    8 years ago

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0
    Photo of Nicole B.
    226
    42
    45

    7 years ago

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0

    6 years ago

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 0
    Love this 1
    Oh no 0

    6 years ago

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0

    9 years ago

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 0
    Love this 1
    Oh no 0

    7 years ago

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0

    8 years ago

    Helpful 3
    Thanks 0
    Love this 1
    Oh no 0

    9 years ago

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0

    Page 1 of 2

    Ask the Community - Linville Falls

    Can people swim in the waterfalls?

    No, not safe

    Don’t See Your Question? Ask Away!

    Review Highlights - Linville Falls

    Unfortunately the Blue Ridge Parkway was closed in many areas when we were visiting and the weather wasn't great.

    Mentioned in 9 reviews

    Read more highlights

    Verify this business for free

    People searched for Parks 138 times last month within 15 miles of this business.

    Verify this business

    Waterfalls Park - Waterfalls Park aka Bobby McLean Memorial Park, Newland

    Waterfalls Park

    4.8(8 reviews)
    10.4 mi

    So pretty! A lovely little stop. Just a short climb...:and for anyone you can't climb, you can see…read moremost of it from the rocks at the bottom.

    I almost passed this spot entirely, and missing it would have been a real loss. Tucked across from…read morethe Ingles Market, a modest parking area and an understated sign conceal a striking series of cascading waterfalls. The path leading up the slope was carved out by volunteer firefighters, and while it is steep in places, it offers a rewarding climb with views that unfold as you ascend. It's medium difficulty. The park features a few picnic tables scattered near the base, inviting visitors to linger and enjoy the sound of rushing water. The falls themselves are double-tiered, flowing over rugged stone, and a natural rock bridge allows you to cross to the other side with reasonable footing. I had the place entirely to myself today, and despite the questionable wisdom of climbing solo, I made it up and back without incident. The experience was peaceful and memorable, and I left with a handful of beautiful photos and a sense of quiet satisfaction. Locally, the site is also known as Bobby McLean Memorial Park, named in tribute to a respected community figure whose legacy lives on in this serene corner of Newland. [Review 1222 of 2025 - 4407 in North Carolina - 24774 overall]

    Photos
    Waterfalls Park - Waterfalls Park aka Bobby McLean Memorial Park, Newland

    Waterfalls Park aka Bobby McLean Memorial Park, Newland

    Waterfalls Park - Waterfalls Park aka Bobby McLean Memorial Park, Newland

    Waterfalls Park aka Bobby McLean Memorial Park, Newland

    Waterfalls Park - Waterfalls Park aka Bobby McLean Memorial Park, Newland

    See all

    Waterfalls Park aka Bobby McLean Memorial Park, Newland

    Linville Falls - parks - Updated May 2026

    Loading...
    Loading...
    Loading...