Skip to content

Stairway Falls

Stairway Falls, seen from above at true elevation

Stairway Falls is a waterfall in North Carolina, at a modelled elevation of 742 m. Toxaway Mountain stands 1,452 m to the north-northwest, 3.5 miles off. The nearest named place is Sidepocket Falls, a waterfall 0.4 miles away. Whitewater Way passes 0.8 miles off.

What the record says

Height
12 m

How to reach it

Coordinates35.08571, -82.95703

Named places within 25 miles

Waterfalls
Parks: 55
  • Silver Run Falls: 6.3 mi
  • Bootleg Access Area: 6.8 mi
  • Sloan Bridge Picnic Area: 7.9 mi
  • McKinney Meadow: 8.0 mi
  • Cashiers Village Green Park: 8.4 mi
Cliffs: 20
Historic sites: 14
  • Air Force B25C Plane Crash Memorial: 10.8 mi
  • General Pickens Monument: 15.3 mi
  • North Carolina Confederate Veterans Memorial Forest: 15.3 mi
  • Camp John Rock: 16.6 mi
  • Chattooga Town: 17.2 mi
Museums: 14
Nature reserves: 9
Attractions: 8
  • Bear Lake Reserve: 11.5 mi
  • M1: 16.2 mi
  • Judaculla Rock: 17.2 mi
  • Devil's Kitchen: 18.6 mi
  • The Twelve Mile Defense Bear: 19.8 mi
Gardens: 5
Artworks: 5
  • Ear: 19.7 mi
  • Chalice: 20.0 mi
  • American Eclipse: 20.1 mi
  • Moai Statue: 24.9 mi
  • Sylva Mural: 24.9 mi
Beaches: 4
  • Sandbar Pool Beach: 6.5 mi
  • Sandstone Beach: 8.3 mi
  • North Beach: 17.3 mi
  • South Beach: 18.8 mi
Springs: 3
  • Cool Spring: 4.4 mi
  • Moody Spring: 12.3 mi
  • Indian Spring: 24.5 mi
Picnic sites: 3
Rest areas: 1

Summits around it

The highest named summits within 7.2 miles of Stairway Falls. Elevation from each summit’s own record; bearing measured between the two coordinates.

SummitBearingElevationDistance
Toxaway MountainNNW1,452 m3.5 mi
Cold MountainNNW1,414 m5.8 mi
Chimneytop MountainW1,401 m6.2 mi
Little Hogback MountainNW1,392 m4.9 mi
Hogback MountainNW1,386 m4.9 mi
Panthertail MountainN1,365 m5.6 mi
Shelton Pisgah MountainNNW1,365 m6.4 mi
Big Pisgah MountainN1,342 m6.1 mi

When to go

Light through the year

DateSunriseGolden hourSunset
March equinox07:3619:1019:44
June solstice06:1920:1220:50
September equinox07:2118:5719:30
December solstice07:3716:4517:24

Local time (America/New_York).

Climate normals

Months averaging 50–80 °F: Apr–Oct.

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Avg °F374046546268717065554640
Precip in8.77.17.87.47.07.89.48.99.46.77.78.6

1991–2020 U.S. Climate Normals, NOAA NCEI — Lake Toxaway 2 SW, under a mile away.

Months at or above the year’s average flow: Dec–May — fullest in Mar, leanest in Sep.

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Mean cfs290314322317264214180183177178205256

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.

OpenStreetMap

OpenStreetMap element node/2875189123

More waterfalls in North Carolina

Drive to it

Byway plans a real route around stops like this one.

Private beta · Free to join

Take the scenic way to Stairway Falls.

Byway plans around your taste, mapped places, real weather and opening hours — then opens every leg in Google Maps with one tap.

Private beta · Free to join · No card · Invite when a spot opens