Rainbow Falls is a 130-foot waterfall on the Horsepasture River in Transylvania County, North Carolina, on national forest land just outside Gorges State Park. The river leaps well out from the rock face into a deep plunge pool, and the spray it throws up the opposite hillside produces the rainbow that gives the falls its name.
The falls
A lidar-based survey measured a single 130-foot drop, describing it as a curtain horsetail about 75 feet wide; many guides quote about 125 feet. The rock face slopes rather than drops sheer, but at normal flow the river clears it and hits the pool with enough force to send wind and mist racing up the far slope. It is the largest of the five major waterfalls the Horsepasture drops over in about two miles; the falls are also recorded as High Falls.
Getting there
The hike starts at the Rainbow Falls trailhead parking area at the Grassy Ridge Access of Gorges State Park, reached from US 64 by heading south on NC 281 for 0.9 mile and turning into the park; the lot is about 0.8 mile past the visitor center. The orange-blazed Rainbow Falls Trail is 1.5 miles one way and the park rates it strenuous. The route descends into the gorge, crosses a creek by rock-hop or shallow wade, and climbs upstream along the river on national forest land. There is no day-use fee. The park opens at 7 a.m. and closes between 7 p.m. in winter and 10 p.m. in summer; it is closed on Christmas Day.
Hurricane Helene closed much of Gorges State Park in fall 2024, but the Rainbow Falls Trail was back open by November 1, 2024, and the park lists its hiking trails as open in 2026.
When to go
Flow runs all year, strongest for about nine months and lower for about three.
On site
A split-rail fence keeps hikers back from the edge; a left fork at the fence leads to a lower observation area with a closer view. Upstream, the trail continues to Turtleback Falls. Drift Falls, beyond it, is on private property; don't trespass. The pools above Rainbow Falls are deadly: on July 4, 2018, a 16-year-old from Charlotte was swept over the falls while helping a younger girl, who was rescued. Stay out of the river above the drop. Dogs are allowed in the state park on a leash no longer than 6 feet.
History and name
In the mid-1980s a plan to divert the river around the falls for a hydroelectric plant was stopped by public opposition, and in 1986 the Horsepasture was designated a National Wild and Scenic River, protecting the falls from development.
Nearby
Umbrella Falls is about 0.1 mile away, Bust Your Butt Falls about 0.3 mile, Staircase Falls about 0.6 mile and Sidepocket Falls about 0.8 mile, all on the Horsepasture River.
Distances are straight-line.