Drift Falls
Marked private. Do not count on getting in.
Drift Falls is a waterfall in North Carolina, at a modelled elevation of 867 m. Toxaway Mountain stands 1,452 m to the north-northwest, 2.8 miles off. The nearest named place is Turtleback Falls, a waterfall 0.2 miles away. Whitewater Way runs past it.
The story
Drift Falls, also known as Bust-Yer-Butt Falls and Driftwood Falls, is a waterfall located on private property off of U.S. Route 64 in Transylvania County, North Carolina. It is on the Horsepasture River, upstream from Rainbow Falls and Turtleback Falls. It is accessible from the Rainbow Falls Trail, which passes through Gorges State Park and Nantahala National Forest on the way. The falls was once a popular place to swim and slide down; however, the property it is on has since changed hands and now, only a view from downstream is accessible.
From Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0.
Wikidata Q38071, matched on coordinates and name (29 m apart).
What the record says
- Height
- 10 m
How to reach it
- On the Whitewater Way
- 1.2 mi off the Waterfall Byway
- 7.3 mi off the Oscar Wigington Scenic Byway
- 8.1 mi off the Forest Heritage Scenic Byway
Overlooks nearby
- Rainbow Falls · 1 mi
- Gorges Overlook · 1 mi
- Whitewater Falls Viewing Platform · 5 mi
- Whitewater Falls Overlook · 5 mi
Named places within 25 miles
- Turtleback Falls: 0.2 mi
- Rainbow Falls: 0.3 mi
- Stairway Falls: 0.9 mi
- Little Falls: 0.9 mi
- Sidepocket Falls: 1.1 mi
- Roundtop: 0.8 mi
- Rocky Knobs: 1.0 mi
- Rainy Knobs: 1.8 mi
- Puncheon Camp Mountain: 1.9 mi
- Chestnut Mountain: 2.1 mi
- Silver Run Falls: 5.7 mi
- McKinney Meadow: 7.2 mi
- Bootleg Access Area: 7.5 mi
- Cashiers Village Green Park: 7.6 mi
- Sloan Bridge Picnic Area: 7.9 mi
- Sheep Cliff: 7.8 mi
- Chattooga Cliffs: 9.5 mi
- Horseshoe Rock: 10.2 mi
- River Cliffs: 10.4 mi
- Wildcat Cliffs: 11.3 mi
- Air Force B25C Plane Crash Memorial: 10.8 mi
- North Carolina Confederate Veterans Memorial Forest: 14.9 mi
- General Pickens Monument: 15.5 mi
- Camp John Rock: 16.6 mi
- Chattooga Town: 17.1 mi
- Highlands Nature Center: 12.7 mi
- Transylvania Heritage Museum: 16.3 mi
- The Real American Tea Museum: 16.6 mi
- Fine Art Museum: 19.1 mi
- Irma Morris Museum of Fine Arts: 20.7 mi
- Bear Lake Reserve: 10.7 mi
- Judaculla Rock: 16.4 mi
- M1: 16.4 mi
- Devil's Kitchen: 19.3 mi
- Wayehutta OHV Trail System: 20.3 mi
- Kelsey Trail Preserve: 12.7 mi
- Ralph and Louise Sargent Preserve: 12.8 mi
- Satulah Mountain Preserves: 13.3 mi
- Brushy Face Preserve: 13.8 mi
- Bracken Preserve: 15.6 mi
- Brevard Community Garden: 15.9 mi
- Common Gardening: 19.4 mi
- Common Gardening: 19.5 mi
- Cullowhee Community Garden: 19.6 mi
- Rose Garden: 20.7 mi
- Ear: 18.8 mi
- Chalice: 19.1 mi
- American Eclipse: 19.2 mi
- Wi: 19.2 mi
- Moai Statue: 24.1 mi
- Sandbar Pool Beach: 5.7 mi
- Sandstone Beach: 9.1 mi
- North Beach: 17.9 mi
- South Beach: 19.4 mi
- Coontree Picnic Area: 17.8 mi
- Sycamore Flats Picnic Area: 19.2 mi
- South: 19.4 mi
- Cool Spring: 5.2 mi
- Moody Spring: 12.3 mi
- Smoky Mountain Visitor Center: 23.9 mi
- Haywood County US 74 Eastbound Rest Area: 24.9 mi
Summits around it
The highest named summits within 7.1 miles of Drift Falls. Elevation from each summit’s own record; bearing measured between the two coordinates.
| Summit | Bearing | Elevation | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|
| Toxaway Mountain | NNW 344° | 1,452 m | 2.8 mi |
| Cold Mountain | N 350° | 1,414 m | 5.1 mi |
| Chimneytop Mountain | W 276° | 1,401 m | 5.4 mi |
| Little Hogback Mountain | NW 321° | 1,392 m | 4.0 mi |
| Hogback Mountain | NW 321° | 1,386 m | 4.1 mi |
| Laurel Knob | NW 311° | 1,380 m | 6.4 mi |
| Blackrock Mountain | NNW 329° | 1,370 m | 6.4 mi |
| Panthertail Mountain | N 356° | 1,365 m | 5.0 mi |
When to go
Light through the year
| Date | Sunrise | Golden hour | Sunset |
|---|---|---|---|
| March equinox | 07:36 | 19:10 | 19:44 |
| June solstice | 06:19 | 20:13 | 20:50 |
| September equinox | 07:21 | 18:57 | 19:30 |
| December solstice | 07:37 | 16:45 | 17:24 |
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 | 54 | 62 | 68 | 71 | 70 | 65 | 55 | 46 | 40 |
| Precip in | 8.7 | 7.1 | 7.8 | 7.4 | 7.0 | 7.8 | 9.4 | 8.9 | 9.4 | 6.7 | 7.7 | 8.6 |
1991–2020 U.S. Climate Normals, NOAA NCEI — Lake Toxaway 2 SW, 1 mi away.
Months at or above the year’s average flow: Dec–May — fullest in Mar, leanest in Sep.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mean cfs | 290 | 314 | 322 | 317 | 264 | 214 | 180 | 183 | 177 | 178 | 205 | 256 |
USGS monthly mean discharge at gauge French Broad River AT Rosman, NC, 9 mi away — the nearest gauge, which can sit on a different stream.
Where this comes from
Location and category confirmed against OpenStreetMap.
OpenStreetMapOpenStreetMap element node/2875186967
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