Hickory Branch Falls is a 30-foot waterfall on Hickory Branch in McDowell County, North Carolina, in the Blue Ridge region. It lies about 9.1 miles northeast of Black Mountain and roughly 21.5 miles east of Asheville as the crow flies.
At 30 feet it is on the modest side for North Carolina, where the typical waterfall with a recorded height stands around 50 feet; it ranks 201st 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.
McDowell County holds 11 recorded waterfalls, and several are close by. Slick Falls, a cascade waterfall, is about 1 miles away. Setrock Creek Falls, a 55-foot tiered waterfall, is about 4.5 miles away. Roaring Fork Falls, a 45-foot cascade waterfall, is about 4.6 miles away.
Hickory Branch Falls is located at 35.6936° N, 82.1881° 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.