Lower Laurel Falls is a 50-foot waterfall on Laurel Creek in Macon County, North Carolina, in the Blue Ridge region. It lies about 5.7 miles east of Franklin and roughly 49.4 miles southwest of Asheville as the crow flies.
At 50 feet it is taller than the typical North Carolina waterfall of about 50 feet, ranking 136th of 288 with a recorded height.
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. Laurel Creek carries 3 recorded waterfalls; the biggest of them reaches 85 feet.
Macon County holds 49 recorded waterfalls, and several are close by. Laurel Falls, a 60-foot tiered waterfall, is under a mile away. Ellijay Creek Falls, is about 1.5 miles away. Upper Falls Branch Falls, is about 1.9 miles away.
Lower Laurel Falls is located at 35.2031° N, 83.2838° 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 exact position has not yet been verified on aerial imagery, so treat the map pin as approximate. Details on trails, parking and access have not been documented for this waterfall yet.