Need a nature fix? Virginia’s waterfalls offer a perfect mix of natural beauty, adventure, and peaceful escape. They can be found along hiking trails that wind through lush forests and mountain landscapes and vary in degree of difficulty to reach. Some are easy walks while others are more challenging. There’s a waterfall for every level of explorer, even those with physical limitations. Perhaps I can “wet” your appetite for a Virginia waterfall adventure. Here are a few destinations to consider.
Crabtree Falls (11581 Crabtree Falls Highway, Montebello, VA) Located in Nelson County’s George Washington National Forest, Crabtree Falls is accessible from US Route 29 or Blue Ridge Parkway via Route 56. Enjoy the tallest series of cascading waterfalls east of the Mississippi. There are five major cascades (the tallest one drops about 400 feet) with a total drop of 1,200 feet. The full hike to the top is challenging for adventurous hikers, but less energetic visitors will find the lower viewing areas very doable via a short, paved path.
Great Falls Park (9200 Old Dominion Dr, McLean, VA) In Northern Fairfax County and only 15 miles from the nation’s capital, Great Falls Park offers stupendous views of the Potomac River as it tumbles and churns through a series of steep, jagged rocks, falls, and rapids. Thrill seekers can kayak, canoe, and raft class two through six whitewater, and if you have the nerve and the experience, you can even shoot the falls! Don’t have the gear? Raft with one of the outfitters who provide professionally guided whitewater trips starting at the park. For those less fit, enjoy accessible viewing from river overlooks two and three, as well as the Patowmack Canal Trail.
Dismal Falls (Dismal Creek RD, Pearisburg, VA) Dismal Falls is situated in the George Washington and Jefferson National Forest, close to the Appalachian Trail in Bland County. However, be assured that the location is anything but dismal or bland! This beautiful, twenty-foot, multi-tiered waterfall is forty feet wide and drops into a single whirlpool cascade. Swimming and picnicking are allowed at the base via a short and relatively flat trail that has a gentle grade. Nature has provided numerous flat rocks to sit and dangle your toes in the water. Fishermen take note: Dismal Creek is a stocked trout stream!
Editorial by Kim Amboy; May 2025