Turtleback Falls
More photographs at the Wikimedia Commons category.
Turtleback Falls is a waterfall in North Carolina, at a modelled elevation of 848 m. Toxaway Mountain stands 1,452 m to the north-northwest, 2.9 miles off. The nearest named place is Rainbow Falls, a waterfall 0.1 miles away. Whitewater Way runs past it.
The story
Turtleback Falls, also called Umbrella Falls, is a waterfall in Western North Carolina, located near Rosman. The falls is located on the Horsepasture River in the Pisgah National Forest. The falls is usually accessed by a hike starting in Gorges State Park which passes through Pisgah National Forest property. Turtleback Falls is a popular place for swimming and people frequently slide over the falls into the Chug Hole during low water; however, the currents can be dangerous in higher flows and people have drowned at Turtleback, or have been swept downriver and over 125' Rainbow Falls.
From Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0.
Wikidata Q37344, matched on coordinates and name (38 m apart).
What the record says
- Height
- 4 m
How to reach it
- On the Whitewater Way
- 1.2 mi off the Waterfall Byway
- 7.4 mi off the Oscar Wigington Scenic Byway
- 8.0 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
- Rainbow Falls: 0.1 mi
- Drift Falls: 0.2 mi
- Stairway Falls: 0.7 mi
- Sidepocket Falls: 0.9 mi
- Little Falls: 1.1 mi
- Roundtop: 0.8 mi
- Rocky Knobs: 1.0 mi
- Puncheon Camp Mountain: 1.9 mi
- Chestnut Mountain: 1.9 mi
- Rainy Knobs: 2.0 mi
- Silver Run Falls: 5.9 mi
- Bootleg Access Area: 7.4 mi
- McKinney Meadow: 7.4 mi
- Cashiers Village Green Park: 7.8 mi
- Sloan Bridge Picnic Area: 7.9 mi
- Sheep Cliff: 8.0 mi
- Chattooga Cliffs: 9.6 mi
- Horseshoe Rock: 10.2 mi
- River Cliffs: 10.6 mi
- Wildcat Cliffs: 11.5 mi
- Air Force B25C Plane Crash Memorial: 10.9 mi
- North Carolina Confederate Veterans Memorial Forest: 14.9 mi
- General Pickens Monument: 15.5 mi
- Camp John Rock: 16.5 mi
- Chattooga Town: 17.2 mi
- Highlands Nature Center: 12.9 mi
- Transylvania Heritage Museum: 16.2 mi
- The Real American Tea Museum: 16.4 mi
- Fine Art Museum: 19.3 mi
- Irma Morris Museum of Fine Arts: 20.6 mi
- Kelsey Trail Preserve: 12.9 mi
- Ralph and Louise Sargent Preserve: 13.0 mi
- Satulah Mountain Preserves: 13.5 mi
- Brushy Face Preserve: 14.0 mi
- Bracken Preserve: 15.5 mi
- Bear Lake Reserve: 10.9 mi
- M1: 16.3 mi
- Judaculla Rock: 16.6 mi
- Devil's Kitchen: 19.1 mi
- Wayehutta OHV Trail System: 20.5 mi
- Brevard Community Garden: 15.8 mi
- Common Gardening: 19.3 mi
- Common Gardening: 19.4 mi
- Cullowhee Community Garden: 19.7 mi
- Rose Garden: 20.6 mi
- Ear: 19.0 mi
- Chalice: 19.3 mi
- American Eclipse: 19.4 mi
- Wi: 19.4 mi
- Moai Statue: 24.2 mi
- Sandbar Pool Beach: 5.9 mi
- Sandstone Beach: 9.0 mi
- North Beach: 17.8 mi
- South Beach: 19.3 mi
- Coontree Picnic Area: 17.8 mi
- Sycamore Flats Picnic Area: 19.1 mi
- South: 19.3 mi
- Cool Spring: 5.0 mi
- Moody Spring: 12.3 mi
- Smoky Mountain Visitor Center: 24.1 mi
Summits around it
The highest named summits within 7.2 miles of Turtleback Falls. Elevation from each summit’s own record; bearing measured between the two coordinates.
| Summit | Bearing | Elevation | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|
| Toxaway Mountain | NNW 341° | 1,452 m | 2.9 mi |
| Cold Mountain | NNW 348° | 1,414 m | 5.2 mi |
| Chimneytop Mountain | W 277° | 1,401 m | 5.6 mi |
| Little Hogback Mountain | NW 319° | 1,392 m | 4.2 mi |
| Hogback Mountain | NW 319° | 1,386 m | 4.2 mi |
| Laurel Knob | NW 310° | 1,380 m | 6.6 mi |
| Blackrock Mountain | NNW 328° | 1,370 m | 6.6 mi |
| Panthertail Mountain | N 354° | 1,365 m | 5.1 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 | 20:12 | 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, under a mile 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/877270366
Take the scenic way to Turtleback Falls.
Byway plans around your taste, verified places, real weather and opening hours — then opens every leg in Google Maps with one tap.