Cutler Falls (Yellow Mountain)

Cutler Falls Falls is a 70-foot waterfall on Justice Creek in Avery County, North Carolina.  The waterfall is located in Yellow Mountain State Natural Area.

Hike Length: 2.4 miles

Estimated Time: 2 to 3 hours
Difficulty: Moderate
Location: Yellow Mountain State Natural Area
Trail Users: Hiking only
Dogs: Yes
Features: Waterfalls (1)
Crowds: Low
Warnings: The rocks around waterfalls are slippery.  There is virtually no parking to access the waterfall.  There is no trail to the waterfall, just an overgrown road with lots of stinging nettle.
Trailhead GPS: 36.01944,-82.02506
Waterfall GPS: 36.01582,-82.04124

Directions:

From Spruce Pine, head north on US-19E for about 10 miles and turn left on gravel Spear Top Lane.  Go about 0.1 miles and pull off on the right side of road, ensuring your vehicle is completely off the road.  There is barely room for one vehicle here.  The right (north) side of the road is state park property so only park on this side.

Map:

Hike Description:

Walk up Spear Top Lane a short ways to where the road curves left towards a house.  Go right to pick up an overgrown road that enters Yellow Mountain State Natural Area.  After crossing a small tributary the road goes through an open meadow area with nice views.  In about 0.5 miles, the trail approaches Justice Creek.  There are several places to cross, it doesn't matter which, but pick up the overgrown road going upstream on the other side.  There are several old roads here, but try to stay close to the creek and head up.  At 1 mile, a steep path that was overgrown with stinging nettle leads down to a nice cascade on the creek, but this is not the waterfall.

The old road mostly ends at about 1.1 miles and an overgrown path leads straight towards the waterfall and ends at the base.

Across the creek, you can climb a little ways up.

Here's a video of the falls.

Blog Entries:

25-Jun-2021: Linville Gorge Loop Hike