Silver Run Falls
An easily reached 25-foot waterfall near Cashiers with a small sandy beach for wading and a good pool for swimming.
Western NC / Blue Ridge
Green River Gorge (Narrows section)
The Green River Gorge has two very different faces: a tame, popular tubing section near Saluda, and further downstream, the
Lake Lure (public beach)
A sandy beach on a scenic mountain lake surrounded by the granite cliffs of Hickory Nut Gorge, near Chimney Rock,
Lake James State Park (beach)
The top mountain beach recommendation in several regional guides — a wide sandy beach with bathhouse, concessions, and kayak/paddleboard rentals.
Wildcat Lake (Banner Elk)
A popular Banner Elk summer swimming spot with a white sandy beach, swimming pier, and fishing dock, next to Tufts
Fires Creek / Leatherwood Falls
A network of creek swimming spots in the Fires Creek watershed, including Leatherwood Falls, in the far southwestern corner of
Sliding Rock
North Carolina’s most iconic natural waterslide for generations — a 60-foot smooth rock cascade dropping into a chilly plunge pool,
Hooker Falls
Widely described as the only DuPont waterfall that is genuinely safe to swim at — a wide, gentle drop into
Triple Falls (DuPont State Forest)
One of DuPont’s most photographed waterfalls (featured in major films), but sources are explicit that it is not the safe-swim