Kevin Adams North Carolina Waterfall Challenges

 

Up for a challenge?

If you’re like many waterfallers, you like to keep a list of waterfalls visited and you’re always looking for new ones to add to the list. These challenges will hopefully add a little more fun in your pursuit and give you a reward for reaching the various goals. There are four different waterfall challenges, all of them included on the same worksheet.

100 Easy Access North Carolina Waterfalls Challenge
100 North Carolina Waterfalls Challenge
250 North Carolina Waterfalls Challenge
500 North Carolina Waterfalls Challenge

Challenge worksheet Excel

Challenge worksheet PDF

All of the challenges comprise waterfalls that are on public land or those on private land that are accessible to the public. Nearly all the waterfalls are included in my North Carolina Waterfalls book. The lists include the corresponding page numbers from the book to help you visit the falls. Many of them are also included on this website, and those that are have links. The lists also include the general location for each falls (Hub), and the trail length and difficulty ratings for some of them.

The 100 Easy Access North Carolina Waterfalls Challenge contains waterfalls that are visible from a road or that require short, easy walks. Persons in wheelchairs should be able to experience most of these waterfalls, while those who can walk with limited mobility will able to see all of them. Some of the waterfalls are spectacular, among the finest in the state. But several of them aren’t much to get excited about. Some will be very hard to see in summer and the creeks may dry to a trickle. Some are distant views, with the waterfall not showing up well. However, I wanted to include 100 waterfalls to make this a worthy challenge for those who aren’t able to make difficult hikes to see waterfalls. Coming up with 100 waterfalls that are extremely easy to see required adding some less-than-ideal falls to the list.

The 100 North Carolina Waterfalls Challenge is my cherry-picked list of some of the best waterfalls in the state. It includes difficult hikes and easy hikes, but all of the waterfalls are notable. The list does not include some of the most difficult waterfall hikes, nor any waterfalls that are on the 100 Disabled-Access North Carolina Waterfalls Challenge.

The 250 North Carolina Waterfalls Challenge includes all of the waterfalls from the 100 challenge, plus 150 additional falls. Some of these additional ones are among the most difficult hikes you could make.

The 500 North Carolina Waterfalls Challenge includes all the falls from the other three challenges, along with 150 additional falls. In order to come up with 500 North Carolina waterfalls that are accessible to the public, I had to include some falls that certainly won’t make anyone’s top 10 list, but all waterfalls have some redeeming quality.

Challenge Rules

The rules are simple. You have to see the waterfall with your own eyes, from ground level. Viewing from an airplane doesn’t count. You can view from up close or a distance as long as you are reasonably close. (Viewing Windy Falls from Narrow Rock Ridge doesn’t count, for example.) It’s perfectly okay to cross a falls off the list if you’ve already visited it before you start the challenge. Some waterfalls are difficult to reach and conditions may not be safe enough for you to get a close view. As long as you can see the waterfall, you can cross it off the list. The list contains a space for the date on which you viewed the falls. If you can’t remember the exact date, just get it as close as you can. You can enter just the year if you like.

Challenge Completion and Recognition

Once you’ve completed a challenge and entered the dates visited, send a copy to me. You can send the file via email to kevin@kadamsphoto.com or print it out and mail it to 283 Inman Branch Road, Waynesville, NC 28786. Be sure to include your name as you want it presented and the date you completed the challenge. I will send you a signed certificate recognizing your accomplishment. Your name will also be included on this page as a challenge completer, along with the date you completed it.

Rumor has it that challenge stickers are in the works for those who complete a challenge. If that comes to fruition, I will mail stickers to everyone who has already completed a challenge, as well for anyone in the future.

Challenge Upkeep

Access to the North Carolina waterfalls is dynamic. I’ve already had to make several changes to the challenges and the need will continue. I’m also hoping one day to have all the waterfalls on the challenges included on my website so you’ll have an electronic version of all the info you need for visiting them. That will take some time and will be done incrementally. If I have to replace a waterfall from a challenge, I will list the info here and will announce it on my Waterfalls with Kevin Adams Facebook page.

But I’ve already crossed that waterfall off the list!

No worries. If you crossed a waterfall off of a list that I’ve updated and the new list doesn’t include that falls, you can choose any waterfall from the new list and cross it off. Just write in the waterfall you visited from the old list.

 

Challenge Completers

 

100 Easy-Access Challenge 

02/24/2019   Justin Hopkins
10/12/2019   Chris Armenti
11/13/2019   Stephanie Leigh
01/30/2020   Glenn Benton
06/11/2020   Jennifer Griffith-Johnson
08/05/2021   Anna Hall
09/19/2021   Aby Parsons
09/19/2021   Amanda Adams
11/20/2021   Charles Bennett
02/05/2022   Wally Storey
09/17/2022   Ira Fowler
11/12/2022   Lisa Wancheck
06/29/2023   Judah Bennett
06/29/2023   Levi Bennett
09/15/2024   Beth Bradshaw

100 Waterfall Challenge

08/05/2016   Casey Marcum
09/29/2016   Tim Holtzclaw
10/08/2016   Justin Paul
10/21/2016   Amanda Paul
05/30/2019   Justin Hopkins
06/22/2019   Chris Armenti
07/25/2019   Jack Fitzgerald
09/01/2019   Stephanie Leigh
10/15/2019   Gina Alberti
10/26/2019   Jason Tarr
11/08/2019   Wally Storey
06/04/2020   Jennifer Griffith-Johnson
06/20/2020   Glenn Benton
07/09/2020   Hunter Goosmann
05/02/2021   Ira Fowler
08/05/2021   Anna Hall
09/19/2021   Aby Parsons
09/19/2021   Amanda Adams
10/23/2021   Stephen McNierney
11/20/2021   Charles Bennett
11/22/2021   Katie Cheatham
12/05/2021   Patricia Adams
04/20/2022   Rhonda Fields
11/12/2022   Lisa Wancheck
06/29/2023   Judah Bennett
06/29/2023   Levi Bennett
09/15/2024   Beth Bradshaw

250 Waterfall Challenge

05/11/2019   Casey Marcum
05/30/2019   Justin Paul
10/12/2019   Chris Armenti
05/24/2020   Stephanie Leigh
06/26/2020   Jennifer Griffith-Johnson
07/03/2020   Glenn Benton
08/05/2021   Anna Hall
09/19/2021   Aby Parsons
09/19/2021   Amanda Adams
11/20/2021   Charles Bennett
11/12/2022   Ira Fowler
11/12/2022   Lisa Wancheck
06/29/2023   Judah Bennett
06/29/2023   Levi Bennett
09/15/2024   Beth Bradshaw

500 Waterfall Challenge

05/30/2019   Justin Hopkins
10/12/2019   Chris Armenti
05/30/2020   Stephanie Leigh
06/26/2020   Jennifer Griffith-Johnson
07/11/2020   Glenn Benton
08/05/2021   Anna Hall
09/19/2021   Aby Parsons
09/19/2021   Amanda Adams
11/20/2021   Charles Bennett
11/12/2022   Ira Fowler
11/12/2022   Lisa Wancheck
06/29/2023   Judah Bennett
06/29/2023   Levi Bennett
09/15/2024   Beth Bradshaw