Wardens Falls is a 35-foot waterfall on Tuckasegee River in Jackson County, North Carolina, in the Blue Ridge region. It lies about 13.7 miles southeast of Cullowhee and roughly 39.1 miles southwest of Asheville as the crow flies.
At 35 feet it is on the modest side for North Carolina, where the typical waterfall with a recorded height stands around 50 feet; it ranks 185th of 288. By form it is a slide, where the water glides down a smooth, inclined rock surface.
The Blue Ridge is the highest part of the southern Appalachians, a range of forested peaks and coves with oak, hickory, tulip poplar and hemlock and spruce-fir on the summits, in one of the wettest climates in the East. Steep mountain streams drop over granite, gneiss and quartzite ledges, giving the region hundreds of waterfalls. Tuckasegee River carries 4 recorded waterfalls, and Wardens Falls is the tallest of them.
Jackson County holds 79 recorded waterfalls, and several are close by. Jawbone Falls, a 30-foot slide waterfall, is under a mile away. Riding Ford Falls, a slide waterfall, is under a mile away. Devils Elbow Falls, a slide waterfall, is under a mile away.
Wardens Falls is located at 35.1718° N, 83.0064° W. The listing is based on the World Waterfall Database, one of the sources compiled by the U.S. Geological Survey in its inventory of waterfalls and rapids of the conterminous United States. The creek name is confirmed against the federal Geographic Names Information System. The position was verified on aerial imagery. Details on trails, parking and access have not been documented for this waterfall yet.