Crabtree Falls is a 120-foot horsetail waterfall on Big Crabtree Creek in Yancey County, North Carolina, just below the Blue Ridge Parkway near milepost 339.5 and Little Switzerland. Its loop trail is closed in 2026 after damage from Hurricane Helene.
The falls
Big Crabtree Creek spreads into a veil over a steep rock face and pools at the base after a run of small cascades over ledges. The World Waterfall Database's lidar reading puts the drop at about 120 feet; the upper third or so is hidden from below by foreshortening. Earlier surveys listed 70 feet. This is the North Carolina falls, not Crabtree Falls in Virginia.
Getting there
The Park Service's current trails list, updated February 19, 2026, shows the Crabtree Falls Loop as closed, and Crabtree Falls Campground is closed for all of 2026 because of Helene damage. No reopening date has been announced; check the Blue Ridge Parkway trail page before going.
When open, the route starts at the parking area of the old Crabtree Falls camp store. It is 0.3 mile to the trailhead behind the campground kiosk, then 0.9 mile down through oak-hickory forest to the falls. Hikers can climb back the same way or take the longer return up switchbacks and along a ridge. The loop is 3 miles and moderately strenuous, taking 1.5 to 2.5 hours; the current trails list rates the 2.5-mile version strenuous.
When to go
Four species of trillium bloom among the spring wildflowers, and by July ferns fill the hollow and rosebay rhododendron blooms around the falls.
On site
The trail reaches the base, where spray keeps ferns and wildflowers growing, and the switchback return gives a second view from above. The wet rocks are slippery, and visitors are asked not to climb on them. Helene may have left hidden hazards on Parkway trails that can change with the weather.
History and name
The falls were first known as Murphy's Falls; they were renamed Crabtree Falls when the Parkway was built in the 1930s. This fall is also labeled Upper Falls elsewhere, and the Crabtree Falls name is given to a different fall on the East Fork.
Nearby
Murphy Falls is about 2.3 miles away. Big Crabtree Falls, the East Fork fall caught up in the naming mix-up, is about 2.7 miles, and Roaring Fork Falls about 4.7 miles.
Distances are straight-line.