Glen Burney Falls is a 70-foot sliding waterfall on New Years Creek in the gorge just below Blowing Rock, North Carolina. It is the middle of three falls on Blowing Rock's Glen Burney Trail, which drops from Annie Cannon Gardens into the creek's gorge.
The falls
New Years Creek runs down a long, steep slide of bedrock and finishes with a nearly vertical drop. A lidar analysis puts the cumulative height at about 70 feet and notes that the upper part is foreshortened from below. Earlier surveys listed 45 feet, and the town's history marker gives 50. The creek continues down to the Johns River in the Catawba basin.
Getting there
The trailhead is in Annie Cannon Gardens, 229 Laurel Lane, a short way from downtown Blowing Rock; the trail is managed by Blowing Rock Parks and Recreation. It starts at 3,520 feet and follows a gravel road past homes before dropping steeply into the gorge. The full trail is 1.6 miles one way with a 600-foot descent to Glen Marie Falls; the round trip to Glen Burney Falls is 2.4 miles with 843 feet of gain, rated moderate.
The town closed the trail on August 7, 2025, after a hiker's fatal fall and another injury, citing wet conditions and lingering damage from Hurricane Helene. Check with Blowing Rock Parks and Recreation (828-295-5222) that it has reopened before going.
When to go
Wet rock was one of the hazards cited when the trail was closed, so dry days are the safer time to visit.
On site
The trail reaches the base of the falls. Several people have been seriously injured or killed falling from the tops of the falls in this gorge, especially on wet bedrock; town signs prohibit leaving the marked trail and warn that climbing around the falls can be fatal. Stay on the trail and off the rock above the drops. Dogs are allowed on the trail.
History and name
The town's history marker says Native American hunters used the path and logging camps later worked the gorge. The trail passes the remains of a sewage treatment system built in 1929. Emily Prudden originally bought the 33-acre tract.
Nearby
Glen Marie Falls, the end of the trail, is about 0.1 mile downstream, and New Years Creek Cascades, the first fall on the trail, about 0.3 mile. Thunderhole Falls is about 1.3 miles away.
Distances are straight-line.