McKinney Falls is a waterfall on Mill Creek in Transylvania County, North Carolina, in the Blue Ridge region, with a total height of about 85 feet. It lies about 14.7 miles southwest of Brevard and roughly 38.2 miles northwest of Greenville as the crow flies.
At 85 feet it is taller than the typical North Carolina waterfall of about 50 feet, ranking 82nd of 288 with a recorded height. The water comes down as a horsetail, where the water keeps some contact with the bedrock as it falls.
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. Mill Creek carries 3 recorded waterfalls, and McKinney Falls is the tallest of them.
There are 133 recorded waterfalls in Transylvania County. Little Deep Ford Falls, a 100-foot horsetail waterfall, is under a mile away. John Fisher Falls, a tiered waterfall, is about 1 miles away. Big Deep Ford Falls, a 75-foot horsetail waterfall, is about 1 miles away.
McKinney Falls is located at 35.1421° N, 82.9699° 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.