Crabtree Falls Trail — Attraction in Spruce Pine

Crabtree Falls is a 70-foot cascading waterfall and one of the most beautiful along the Blue Ridge Parkway. It is located in the Crabtree Meadows Area at Mile Post 339.5 along the parkway, about 5 miles south of Little Switzerland. There was a nice campground and visitor center with a gift shop and even a gas station, but unfortunately, these have all become victims of budget cuts. Fortunately, you can still visit the falls. Park at the closed visitor center and follow the short trail through a lovely wildflower meadow to the campground and pick up the Crabtree Falls Trail. Although the waterfall is the highlight of the area, it's a great area to view wildflowers. We visited on Labor Day and I was surprised how many we saw. The trail about a 2.5-mile loop that's moderate to strenuous in difficulty. In 800 feet, the trail splits. Turn right to head down to the base of the falls in under a mile. This is the most strenuous part of the hike as the trail heads steeply down through switchbacks and stairs. At the base, there is a footbridge across Big Crabtree Creek with fantastic views of the waterfall. This is a rare waterfall that actually looks better with lower water flows - there are many small ledges in the rock that the water cascades down. In high water, these become mostly drowned out. To finish up the loop, cross the bridge and head up the stairs to the top of the waterfall. From here, the trail is moderate as it follows Big Crabtree Creek upstream. There are some nice cascades along the creek in this section. Eventually, the trail crosses the creek on a footbridge and loops around past the campground and back to...

It was very helpful to use the restroom right before starting the hike at the camping area. Restroom had good toilets with sinks and soap. Lots of bugs out during our hike to the falls. Husband got bitten up (mid-July hike). For city people like us who come from flat Florida, this hike felt a bit strenuous for us. On our way to the waterfall we had to watch our step to be careful not to trip, because the path was rocky or full of roots. Once we reached the waterfall, we were thrilled to see its beauty. It was amazing to see God's fingerprints in nature! We did the complete loop of the hike to return back to our car. Leaving the waterfall was a very strenuous hike climb up at first, but the rest of the path was much more easier. The return wasn't so bad. Overall, yes, it is a hike I would do over. It was a...

The main trail from the parking lot takes about 15 minutes at a steady pace. As you will see in the photos, stairs and rock strewn descent await. Beautiful falls to reward you at the end before you hike back up. I crossed the bridge and continued to walk the loop, but this direction is a steep climb without the assistance of built in stairs and such as on the main trail. The loop does offer some nice spots along the creek feeding the falls. This additional hike at a steady rate took about 40 minutes. No fee required. The parking lot area has some well used and dirty portable toilets. The main visitors center has been abandoned years ago and is shuttered up so there are no real services available here. Didn’t mind that since I just wanted to...