Surprise Falls is a waterfall on French Broad River in Madison County, North Carolina, in the Blue Ridge region. It lies about 15.9 miles west of Mars Hill and roughly 25 miles northwest of Asheville as the crow flies.
Its height has not been recorded in the source data. By form it is a block waterfall, wider than it is tall, spilling over a broad ledge.
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. French Broad River carries 2 recorded waterfalls along its course.
Madison County holds 5 recorded waterfalls, and several are close by. Needles Falls, a 6-foot block waterfall, is about 1.5 miles away. Dudley Falls, a 12-foot cascade waterfall, is about 5.7 miles away across the state line in Tennessee. Douglas Falls, a 20-foot block waterfall, is about 5.8 miles away across the state line in Tennessee.
Surprise Falls is located at 35.8902° N, 82.8218° 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 position was verified on aerial imagery. Details on trails, parking and access have not been documented for this waterfall yet.