Bridal Veil Falls Hike

Hollywood-worthy waterfalls make for family fun and great picnics

What To Expect

There are many ways to get to Bridal Veil Falls, but for the sake of simplicity, use the Fawn Lake Access Area, which takes you down several wide gravel roads, making it easy for hikers of all ages. From Access Area, find the entrance to the Reasonover Creek Trail and take it for 0.1 mile. Take the first left on Conservation Road (a gravel road) for 1.70 miles. After you pass the airstrip, you’ll see Bridal Veil Falls Road on the left. This road will take you to a narrower trail and the base of the falls. 

These 120-foot falls rush and tumble down exposed granite rock. While you’ll see many people walking on the rocks (and mountain bikers riding onto them), it’s best to stay on the dry part and exercise extreme caution when getting close to the falls, even though Catniss and Peeta did in The Hunger Games.

One popular thing to do at Bridal Veil Falls is to walk under one of the rock ledges in order to stand behind the 10-foot-waterfall at the top (this happened in a scene in The Last of the Mohicans). This can be done safely if you’re visiting when the water volume is lighter (in other words, don’t attempt this after a heavy rainfall).

Hikers frequently combine a Bridal Veil Falls hike with another waterfall hike, such as High Falls (reached by going back out to Conservation Road and taking it to Buck Forest Road) or with a hike to Lake Julia.

Directions

From downtown Asheville, take 1-240 to I-26 Turn right onto Hwy 280 for 16 miles to Highway 64. Turn left onto US 64 and go 3.7 miles to the stoplight. Turn right onto Crab Creek Road and proceed 4.3 miles to DuPont Road (which later becomes Staton Road). Stay on DuPont/Staton Road for 5.3 miles, passing the Hooker Falls and High Falls Access Areas. At the end of Staton Road, turn left onto Cascade Lakes Road. Go 2.5 miles past the Corn Mills Shoals Access Area and make a left on Reasonover Road just before US-276. The Fawn Lake Access Area is 2.8 miles down Reasonover on the left. Bridal Veil Falls is reached via the Reasonover Trail.

GPS Coordinates

35.09396, -82.36152

Photos by Jonna Reiff.