Looking Glass Falls

Pisgah National Forest, North Carolina, USA

About Looking Glass Falls


Hiking Distance: almost roadside
Suggested Time:

Date first visited: 2012-10-18
Date last visited: 2012-10-18

Waterfall Latitude: 35.29613
Waterfall Longitude: -82.76873

Waterfall Safety and Common Sense

Looking Glass Falls was certainly one of the prettier and easy-to-access waterfalls we’ve seen during our time in Brevard.

As a result, this 60ft falls was definitely popular let alone one of the most photographed and painted waterfalls this side of North Carolina.

Looking_Glass_Falls_005_20121018 - Looking Glass Falls and Autumn foliage around it
Looking Glass Falls and Autumn foliage around it

After all, we’ve seen it appear in numerous galleries, restaurants, and even published works (i.e. books, maps, and brochures) scattered throughout town.

Perhaps it was its shape with a slanted top and a wide girth (thanks to its reliable flow) that made this one seem so pleasing to our eyes (as well as those of many others, I’m sure).

Although the Looking Glass Falls could be seen from the long pullout alongside the highway 276 (see directions below), there were steps that led down to the creek bed where we got frontal views of the waterfall.

Besides the popularity of this falls, the only thing that really kept us from lingering longer than we did was the presence of yellow jacket wasps.

Looking_Glass_Falls_010_20121018 - A long exposure shot of the Looking Glass Falls
A long exposure shot of the Looking Glass Falls

They seemed to be attracted to sweets tossed in the rubbish bins found the walking path to the falls.

Authorities

Looking Glass Falls resides in the Pisgah National Forest near Brevard in Transylvania County, North Carolina. It is administered by the USDA Forest Service. For information or inquiries about the area as well as current conditions, visit their website or Facebook page.

Looking_Glass_Falls_003_20121018 - View of the Looking Glass Falls from the top of the steps
Looking_Glass_Falls_007_20121018 - Descending the steps towards the bottom of Looking Glass Falls
Looking_Glass_Falls_012_20121018 - Once we were at the bottom of the steps, we got a real close-up look at the Looking Glass Falls
Looking_Glass_Falls_018_20121018 - This was the most frontal view of the Looking Glass Falls that I could get, which required a little scrambling onto the creek bed


We’ll start the driving directions to Looking Glass Falls from Brevard since we stayed there.

From the intersection of Hwy 276 (Pisgah Hwy), Hwy 64 (Asheville Hwy), and also Hwy 280 (New Henderson Hwy) on the northeastern outskirts of town, turn left at the light onto Hwy 276 and drive it for 5.8 miles (give or take).

Look for a very long pullout to parallel park on the right side of the highway.

Looking_Glass_Falls_001_20121018 - Long pullout for parallel parking near the Looking Glass Falls
Long pullout for parallel parking near the Looking Glass Falls

Generally given the amount of commotion here, you can’t miss it.

If you happened to be coming from Asheville, the quickest way to get to the falls would be to drive south on the I-26 to the Hwy 280.

Then, head south on the Hwy 280 towards Brevard before turning right onto Hwy 276.

This route was said to be 37 miles or around 45-60 minutes drive.

As for some geographical context, Brevard was 35 miles (under an hour drive) south of Asheville, 47 miles (90 minutes drive) northwest of Greenville, South Carolina, and 126 miles (2.5 hours drive) west of Charlotte.

Find A Place To Stay

Zoomed in on the falls from an upper vantage point before zooming out for context


Fixated on the falls


Bottom up sweep of the falls from the lowest vantage point


Fixated on the falls from the lowest vantage point

Tagged with: pisgah, national forest, blue ridge, parkway, transylvania county, north carolina, waterfall, brevard



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Looking Glass Waterfall Pisgah National Forest June 25, 2011 8:35 pm by BJ Winchester - I'm so excited to introduce those of you who read this website to Transylvania County, Brevard NC home to 260 waterfalls! I can't believe nobody has posted any. I'm listing the most popular one and will load the pdf of the brochure of some of the others. Enjoy. I know TLC sings a song, Don't… ...Read More

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Johnny Cheng

About Johnny Cheng

Johnny Cheng is the founder of the World of Waterfalls and author of the award-winning A Guide to New Zealand Waterfalls. Over the last 2 decades, he has visited thousands of waterfalls in over 40 countries around the world and nearly 40 states in the USA.
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