Accessibility – Hard
Height: 50′
Distance – 2.5 (out and back)
Beauty – 7
Photo rating – 6
Solitude – 8
GPS Info: LAT 35.07198 LONG -83.00087
Last updated – 12-24-2024
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Getting there: The trailhead for Tumblin’ Fun Falls is on NC281 3.6 miles south of the intersection with US64. If you’re coming from Lake Toxaway, start looking for Brewer Rd on the left 3.5 miles after turning onto NC281. Coming from SC or Whitewater Falls, the parking area is 0.1 of a mile past pullout for White Owl Falls. This is the same trailhead for Big Falls. It is located at: 35.077905, -82.99366
The hike: This one is going to be on a trail for a while, an old road for a while and through some thick brush at times. It’s not an easy trek, but I really like this waterfall, and chances are, no one else will be there when you arrive. Begin the hike at the obvious trail where Brewer Rd. intersects NC281. It will climb from the intersection, wind past a gate and top out quickly before heading downhill for a while. Less than a third of a mile from the trailhead, a lesser-used trail will veer off to the right, leaving the main trail to Big Falls behind. It’s going to climb steadily for 0.2 of a mile to the top of a small knob where the road is going to become harder to follow as it descends the backside of the knob. The road stays on a wide ridge spine and meets a more defined road at a T intersection. You should hit this obvious road at 0.8 of a mile from the trailhead.
The hike has been pretty easy thus far, but it’s about to get ornery. Make a right onto the obvious road, but don’t get too comfortable walking it. In about 150 feet it turns and forces a crossing of the Thompson River, which ain’t much this high up. Once you get across, there is a very faint trail into the woods. It is not easy to find and even harder to follow. I crossed the river at this point 35.07109, -82.99676. That might give you something to use as a guide. In time, the thick growth by the river will open up some and the old road you had been following will become more obvious. The route will lead you toward the edge of public land before sweeping back to the creek below the falls. We got in the creek and made our way to the base of the falls by wading and scrambling along the bank. There isn’t any one way that was better than the other and a combination of the two seemed the best method. Here are a couple of shots of the falls from two different vantages.
