Snow and Waterfalls in Highlands, North Carolina

We were in need of a relaxing weekend and wanted to enjoy some winter weather while still socially distancing, so we booked a weekend in a historic (but renovated) 1924 cabin in Highlands, North Carolina. Highlands is only a little more than a two hour drive from Atlanta, but is at over 4,000 feet altitude and is a small touristy mountain town. A great thing about living in Atlanta is that the southern end of the Appalachian Mountains are easily accessible, with great opportunities for weekend trips for relaxing, hiking, or just to experience cooler weather.

Our cute little historic house.

The cozy living room.

David relaxing by the fireplace.

After settling in, we set out to see a couple of waterfalls before sunset. The first, Bridal Veil Falls, is right along highway 64, one of the only routes in and out of town. We made a quick stop to take in the view, which was complete with a big row of icicles draped from the overhanging rock.

A road goes under the falls, but it's closed to vehicles in winter.

So many giant icicles.

Bridal Veil Falls - the view from across the road.

Our next stop was just a few miles down the road. Dry Falls is part of the Nantahala National Forest, with a $5 entrance fee to park. It's worth it to see this impressive waterfall and take the trail right underneath the falls.

The view down the valley.

Dry Falls is very large!

It's called "Dry Falls" because you can go underneath the falls and stay dry, thanks to the large rock overhang.

The freezing mist formed ice across the hillside.

The guard rail was covered in ice too. Watch your step!

We made a brief stop back in town to walk around a bit, and stopped at Mountain Fresh Grocery to pick up some supplies. Highlands is one of the cuter mountain towns in the region. It's also higher-end, with a couple of nice restaurants and some historic inns right in town. It's not very big (only about 2,000 people live here), and has a nice concentrated walkable downtown.

Lots of cute shops and restaurants.

Historic downtown Highlands. Just ignore the parking :)

A historic hotel in downtown.

The next day we did a longer hike to Glen Falls, which is actually a series of waterfalls along a forested trail that descends around 750 feet to the bottom of the valley. The trail continues for some distance, but we recommend stopping and turning around at the third waterfall overlook, as there are not any waterfalls past that point. We went as far as a point where the trail crosses the stream toward a campground, and turned around there.

Year-round green in this part of the country!

One of the impressive waterfalls.

Another cascade further down the trail.

Some sprouting moss on a tree.

After our hike we got some coffee and food to go from Calders Coffee and Highlands Smokehouse (both recommended), and went back to our cabin in time to avoid driving the mountainous roads during the incoming snow. We had a nice relaxing evening watching the snow and enjoying the fireplace.

Yay, snow!

This is what we woke up to - beautiful snow!

The porch with a lovely snow view.

David enjoying the snow.

A true winter wonderland!

Many of the trees on the mountaintops were covered in ice and snow.

A viewpoint on our way home.

Another viewpoint closer to Georgia.

Highlands is a great little spot to visit not too far from Atlanta. Under normal circumstances, it would be nice to shop and eat in the cute downtown. We'll stop by again sometime in the future for sure.