West Prong Hickey Fork Falls is a 35-foot slide waterfall on West Prong Hickey Fork in Madison County, North Carolina, in the Bald Mountains section of Pisgah National Forest. A yellow-blazed trail reaches it in a little over a mile.
The falls
The creek starts as a slide over bare rock, then finishes with a near-vertical drop into a flat pool. Constant spray keeps the rocks beside the fall covered in moss, with small grottoes behind the mist, a habitat known as a spray-cliff community. A lidar survey puts the drop at about 35 feet. Older surveys listed 25 feet, and other figures put it at 30. Below the falls the creek descends more than 500 feet to Shelton Laurel Creek, which drains to the French Broad River.
Getting there
From Hot Springs, the town's tourism office directs visitors east on US 25/70 for 5 miles, left on NC 208 for 3 miles, then right on NC 212 for 7 miles to Hickey Fork Road. Turn left and drive about a mile, on a road that becomes Forest Road 465, to a parking area on the right. The trail starts a short way up the road on the left.
The walk to the falls is about 2.3 miles round trip, rated moderate to difficult; a separate measurement gives 2.5 miles with 544 feet of gain. The route is natural single-track with several stream crossings. The full Hickey Fork Trail 292, managed by the Forest Service's Appalachian Ranger District, runs 2.3 miles one way to Pounding Mill with 1,120 feet of elevation change and is rated difficult.
A hiker reported in April 2026 that the Hickey Fork trail was clear after Hurricane Helene; check with the Appalachian Ranger District before going.
When to go
The hike is open year-round.
On site
The rock around the fall is slippery, and hikers are advised to keep children and dogs back from the edge; dogs are allowed on a leash. The tourism office recommends sturdy footwear and long pants for the stream and ridge crossings.
Nearby
Whiteoak Flats Branch Falls is about 1.8 miles away. Across the Tennessee line, Camp Creek Falls is about 3.5 miles away and Bailey Falls about 4.1 miles.
Distances are straight-line.