Catawba Falls

Catawba Falls is a waterfall in North Carolina, at a modelled elevation of 635 m. Pinnacle stands 1,721 m to the north-northwest, 7.1 miles off. The nearest named place is Lower Catawaba Falls, a waterfall 0.2 miles away. Black Mountain Rag passes 3.2 miles off.
The story
Catawba Falls is a series of waterfalls on the headwaters of the Catawba River, in McDowell County, near Old Fort, North Carolina.
From Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0.
Wikidata Q37354, referenced by the OpenStreetMap record.
How to reach it
- 3.2 mi off the Black Mountain Rag
- 6.7 mi off the Blue Ridge Parkway, National
- 9.9 mi off the Drovers Road
- 14.3 mi off the South Mountain Scenery
Overlooks nearby
Named places within 25 miles
- Lower Catawaba Falls: 0.2 mi
- Upper Catawba Falls: 0.2 mi
- Davids Falls: 0.8 mi
- Graybeard Falls: 5.4 mi
- Slick Falls: 6.4 mi
- Kitsuma Peak: 1.4 mi
- Edmondson Mountain: 1.5 mi
- Hicks Mountain: 1.6 mi
- Jobs Peak: 2.1 mi
- Bernard Mountain: 2.4 mi
- Old Fort Picnic Area: 2.5 mi
- Lindley Park: 2.7 mi
- Andrews Geyser: 3.2 mi
- Riverwalk Park: 4.1 mi
- Welsh Field: 4.3 mi
- Arrowhead Monument: 4.0 mi
- Davidson's Fort Historic Park: 4.6 mi
- Susie Skinner Clarke Hamilton: 10.2 mi
- Potato House: 12.6 mi
- Caretaker's Cabin: 12.6 mi
- Dr. John Wilson Community Garden: 5.0 mi
- Columbarium Garden: 5.4 mi
- Camp Celo Gardens: 15.4 mi
- Terrace garden: 16.3 mi
- Mountain Gardens: 16.3 mi
- Mountain Gateway Museum: 4.0 mi
- Old Fort Railroad Museum: 4.0 mi
- Mountain Gateway Museum: 4.0 mi
- Swannanoa Valley Museum: 4.4 mi
- Mt Mitchell Museum: 11.3 mi
- McDowell Tourism Authority: 3.9 mi
- Buck Creek Trout Farm: 11.3 mi
- Grady's Animal Discovery Den: 12.0 mi
- Canopy Ridge Farm: 13.3 mi
- Little Snowball Lookout Tower: 15.1 mi
- Blue Ridge Assembly: 5.2 mi
- Tebbé Davies Fine Art Studios: 12.8 mi
- Wake: 17.4 mi
- Deco Gecko: 17.4 mi
- Flat Iron Statue: 17.4 mi
- Rocky Knob: 6.8 mi
- Pisgah National Forest: 7.6 mi
- Florence Nature Preserve: 9.9 mi
- Craggy Mountain Wilderness Study Area: 11.2 mi
- Lake Lure Green Space: 13.3 mi
- Mountain Spring @ Lakey Gap: 3.6 mi
- Hemphill Spring: 6.8 mi
- Pinnacle Spring: 7.2 mi
- Lenox Spring: 24.0 mi
- Crystal Spring: 24.5 mi
- Slaty Cliffs: 5.5 mi
- Raven Cliffs: 13.2 mi
- Cloven Cliffs: 13.9 mi
- The Pinnacles: 14.2 mi
- Worlds Edge: 14.3 mi
- Marion Rest Area - Eastbound: 12.9 mi
- Marion Rest Area - Westbound: 13.0 mi
- McDowell County Rest Area: 13.0 mi
- I-26 Buncombe County Rest Area: 20.1 mi
- I-26 Henderson County Rest Area: 20.1 mi
- Boat beach: 22.9 mi
- Swimming beach: 23.0 mi
- Lake Powhatan Beach: 23.0 mi
- Riverside Park Beach Access: 23.7 mi
- Mt Mitchell Picnic Grounds: 11.4 mi
- Carolina Hemlocks Rec. Area Picnic Site: 14.1 mi
Summits around it
The highest named summits within 7.1 miles of Catawba Falls. Elevation from each summit’s own record; bearing measured between the two coordinates.
| Summit | Bearing | Elevation | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pinnacle | NNW 346° | 1,721 m | 7.1 mi |
| Graybeard Mountain | NNW 333° | 1,635 m | 6.2 mi |
| Big Slaty | NNW 332° | 1,597 m | 6.0 mi |
| Rocky Knob | NNW 339° | 1,597 m | 6.8 mi |
| Little Slaty | NNW 329° | 1,524 m | 5.9 mi |
| Glass Rock Knob | N 354° | 1,471 m | 6.6 mi |
| Walker's Knob | NNW 333° | 1,455 m | 5.5 mi |
| Forked Ridge Knob | NW 321° | 1,375 m | 5.6 mi |
When to go
Light through the year
| Date | Sunrise | Golden hour | Sunset |
|---|---|---|---|
| March equinox | 07:34 | 19:07 | 19:41 |
| June solstice | 06:14 | 20:11 | 20:49 |
| September equinox | 07:18 | 18:54 | 19:27 |
| December solstice | 07:35 | 16:41 | 17:20 |
Local time (America/New_York).
Climate normals
Months averaging 50–80 °F: Apr–Oct.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Avg °F | 37 | 40 | 46 | 55 | 63 | 70 | 73 | 72 | 66 | 56 | 46 | 40 |
1991–2020 U.S. Climate Normals, NOAA NCEI — Black MTN 2 W, 6 mi away.
Months at or above the year’s average flow: Dec–May, Sep — fullest in Mar, leanest in Jul.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mean cfs | 57.1 | 56.0 | 60.0 | 56.3 | 52.7 | 33.0 | 26.0 | 27.3 | 47.4 | 30.3 | 35.3 | 49.6 |
USGS monthly mean discharge at gauge North Fork Swannanoa River Near Walkertown, NC, 8 mi away — the nearest gauge, which can sit on a different stream.
Where this comes from
Location and category confirmed against OpenStreetMap.
OpenStreetMapWikidataOpenStreetMap element node/1815131435
Day trips start here
- Asheville · 18 mi
Take the scenic way to Catawba Falls.
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