Waterfalls in South Carolina

South Carolina's waterfalls, where the Blue Ridge drops to the Piedmont

Along South Carolina's northwest corner, the Blue Ridge Escarpment drops sharply into the Piedmont, and the streams that spill off that edge make nearly every named waterfall the state has. Farther out on the flatter Piedmont, a few more falls are old mill shoals on slow rivers. The state counts 22 named waterfalls in all, most of them within a short drive of Caesars Head.

Where the waterfalls are

Greenville County and Oconee County each hold 7 listings, the largest shares. Greenville's falls sit in the Mountain Bridge Wilderness Area, split between Caesars Head and Jones Gap state parks; Oconee's line the Chattooga River corridor in Sumter National Forest and Stumphouse Park outside Walhalla. Pickens County and Spartanburg County add 2 listings apiece along the same foothill edge. Lancaster, Laurens, Marlboro and Union counties each contribute one low Piedmont shoal or mill-dam falls, well out on the plain.

Waterfalls worth the trip

• Raven Cliff Falls, drops 345 feet on Matthews Creek; a 4-mile round trip from Caesars Head State Park reaches an overlook, and a longer 6.6-mile round trip continues to a suspension bridge above the falls. The park's own materials give 420 feet.
• Isaqueena Falls, 145 feet in tiered horsetails on Cane Creek, is a paved quarter-mile walk to an observation deck at the City of Walhalla's Stumphouse Park; Wikipedia gives 100 feet. The unmaintained scramble to the base is described by the park as dangerous.
• Kings Creek Falls, 100 feet on King Creek in Sumter National Forest, is a 1.5-mile round trip with about 203 feet of climbing from Burrells Ford, rocky and narrow in places.
• Rainbow Falls, 165 feet on Cox Camp Creek, sits on YMCA Camp Greenville land reached through Jones Gap State Park: the Jones Gap Trail for 0.75 mile, then the Rainbow Falls Trail for 1.6 miles, climbing roughly 1,000 feet. The park's own page gives 120 feet.
• Lower Whitewater Falls, 385 feet on the Whitewater River, is the South Carolina half of a two-part falls that continues as Upper Whitewater Falls in North Carolina, reached by the Foothills Trail or its spur trails, or by boat across Lake Jocassee from Devils Fork State Park.

Fees and access

Caesars Head State Park charges $3 for adults, $1.50 for South Carolina seniors and $1 for ages 6 to 15, and is open 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. daily, later during Daylight Saving Time; trails close an hour before dark. Jones Gap charges $6 for adults and reserves weekend parking spaces from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.; a trail registration card is required. Table Rock State Park charges the same $6 adult rate, and since July 27, 2026 its Nature Center and trailhead restrooms have been closed for construction, with hikers registering at the Concessions Area instead. Devils Fork State Park charges $8 for adults but waives admission every Tuesday. Stumphouse Park charges $5 per vehicle, with an annual pass available for $50 to Oconee County residents and $60 to everyone else.

Safety

Hurricane Helene's landslides shut down most of the Mountain Bridge Wilderness Area in September 2024; both Caesars Head and Jones Gap now report their trail systems open again. Jones Gap still classifies its wilderness trails as advanced and bans roadside parking; hiking at Caesars Head is done at the hiker's own risk, with a mandatory exit an hour before sunset. A hiker was critically injured in a roughly 20-foot fall at Isaqueena Falls and had to be airlifted out.