Waterfalls of Virginia & West Virginia: 174 Falls in the Old Dominion and the Mountain State

by Randall Sanger

Overview

Find Your Way to the Most Beautiful Waterfalls

Waterfalls create a feeling of serenity, a sense of restrained power. Their grandeur takes our breath away. Their gentle sounds complement periods of meditation. Let professional photographer and West Virginia resident Randall Sanger guide you to the top-ranked waterfalls of Virginia and West Virginia. Your bucket list should include these 174 gorgeous locales that decorate the landscape.

The informative guidebook pairs professional photographs of every waterfall with all the information you need, including directions, distance, hike difficulty, and more. The waterfalls are organized geographically and ranked by beauty. Start with the ones nearby, then get away to discover those further afield. These natural wonders prove that Virginia and West Virginia are home to some of the most picturesque waterfalls in America.

From Dark Hollow Falls in Shenandoah National Park to the Falls of Hills Creek in the Monongahela National Forest, experience them all with Waterfalls of Virginia & West Virginia!

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781591937234
Publisher:	Adventure Publications, Incorporated
Publication date:	06/12/2018
Series:	Best Waterfalls by State
Edition description:	Revised
Pages:	272
Sales rank:	466,575
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 8.90(h) x 0.60(d)

About the Author

Randall Sanger is a West Virginia-based landscape photographer. Through his photography, his ultimate desire is to glorify God’s creation and showcase the natural beauty of West Virginia, and inspire others to preserve and protect the many special places found in the Mountain State.

For over 20 years Randall has been traipsing about West Virginia in search of grand vistas, majestic waterfalls, and intimate forest scenes. He spends most of his time exploring and photographing the amazingly beautiful scenery found in the New River Gorge National River, the Monongahela National Forest, the Canaan Valley National Wildlife Refuge, and the various state parks and wildlife management areas throughout the state.

Randall is coauthor of the multi-award-winning book West Virginia Waterfalls: The New River Gorge. He conducts photography workshops throughout West Virginia and beyond. His images have appeared in print and digital publications (both regional and national), are in private and corporate collections, and have been used for marketing and corporate recruitment. He works with several advertising/marketing agencies, with duties ranging from capturing specific images for various publications to covering events like the National Boy Scout Jamboree, and he was photographer in residence for the Canaan Valley National Wildlife Refuge. Randall is a juried fine arts photographer with Tamarack: The Best of West Virginia, located in Beckley, and his work can also be viewed at the Buxton and Landstreet Gallery in Thomas, West Virginia. He resides in Williamson with his wife, Melissa, daughter, Hannah, and trusty hiking companion Rocky, a mixed-breed dog.

To see the results of his latest photography trips and more, visit www.randallsanger.com.

Read an Excerpt

Brush Creek Falls
Adjacent to Brush Creek Falls is the Nature Conservancy’s Brush Creek Preserve, a great place to see beautiful spring wildflowers, migrating warblers, and dramatic limestone and sandstone cliffs.

• Location: Near I-77 in Mercer County off of Brush Creek Falls Road
• Address/GPS for the Falls: Brush Creek Falls Road; 37° 27.995’ N, 81° 3.635’ W
• Directions: From I-77, take exit 14 and travel east for 0.1 mile. Turn left onto Eads Mill Road, and follow for 3.3 miles, then turn right onto Brush Creek Falls Road. Follow for 0.3 mile, and the parking area is on the left, just after crossing Brush Creek. The trail begins at the small picnic shelter.
• Website: tinyurl.com/wvbrushcreek
• Waterway: Brush Creek
• Height: 33 feet
• Crest: Varies
• Nearest Town: Athens
• Hike Difficulty: Easy
• Trail Quality: A wide, rocky dirt path
• Round-trip Distance: 0.5 mile
• Admission: None

Trip Report & Tips:

My first visit to this impressive waterfall was over 30 years ago, and after countless visits, Brush Creek Falls remains one of my favorites. Your first view of the falls will actually be what I call the Upper Falls—a series of small cascades that makes up the ledge of Brush Creek Falls. After photographing the upper section of the falls, continue down the trail a short distance past a wooden fence and make an abrupt switchback to the left and down to the creek.

Several nice vantage points for photographing Brush Creek Falls can be found once you descend the path from the upper trail. The pool is rather large, though, so my favorite vantage points are actually in the creek itself, or from the other side of the creek.

Note: Be careful if you decide to wade into and/or across the creek; all stream crossings should be made with extra caution due to slick rocks and turbulent water.

From the parking area, the trail begins slightly uphill from the picnic shelter and follows an easy but rocky path to the falls. Grist and woolen mills were on this site in the mid 1800s, and the trail was once a narrow-gauge railroad used by the Bluestone Land and Lumber Company to haul logs out of the canyon. Notice the remnants of the mill on the far side of the stream, near the top of the waterfall.

For additional photo opportunities, there are some very nice stream scenes and small cascades downstream from Brush Creek Falls; accessing them will require some creek walking or steep scrambles down from the trail. Lastly, one more neat little cascade is on the other side of the road at the parking area; you can’t miss it.

When Brush Creek is raging and you have the time, you should hike on down the trail to White Oak Creek Falls (page 148). It needs a lot of rain to make the hike worthwhile, but it’s a beauty and shouldn’t be missed when the conditions warrant a visit.

Table of Contents

Dedication

Acknowledgments

Preface

Introduction

How to Use This Book

The Waterfalls of the Two Virginias

About the Regions

Photographing Waterfalls

Waterfall Safety

Waterfall Names

Virginia Waterfalls

• Map of Virginia’s Waterfalls
• Southwest Virginia
• The Devil’s Bathtub
• The Falls of Little Stony
• The Falls of Tumbling Creek
• Crab Orchard Branch Falls
• Corder Hollow Falls
• Falls of Logan Creek
• Big Falls
• Big Rock Falls (Whitetop Laurel Falls)
• Straight Branch Falls
• The Chute
• Cabin Creek Cascade
• Lower Cabin Creek Falls
• Middle Cabin Creek Falls
• Upper Cabin Creek Falls
• Wilson Creek Falls
• Fox Creek Falls
• Comers Creek Falls
• Chestnut Creek Falls
• Falls of Dismal
• Valley and Ridge
• The Cascades
• The Upper Cascades
• Falling Spring Falls
• Stiles Falls
• Roaring Run Falls
• Roaring Run Slide
• Double Falls on Roaring Run
• Waterfall at Falls Ridge
• Mill Creek Falls
• Lace Falls
• McGuirt Falls
• Folly Mills Falls
• Mill Creek Falls
• Blue Ridge Parkway and Vicinity
• St. Mary’s Falls
• Crabtree Falls
• Apple Orchard Falls
• White Rock Falls
• Box Spring Falls
• Wigwam Falls
• Panther Creek Falls
• Upper Statons Creek Falls
• Lower Statons Creek Falls
• Fallingwater Cascades
• Bent Mountain Falls
• Shenandoah National Park
• Overall Run Falls
• The Falls of Whiteoak Canyon
• Dark Hollow Falls
• Waterfalls on Cedar Run
• Lands Run Falls
• Hazel Falls
• Upper Rose River Falls
• Lower Rose River Falls
• Lewis Falls (Lewis Spring Falls)
• South River Falls
• Upper Doyles River Falls
• Lower Doyles River Falls
• Jones Run Falls
• Big Branch Falls
• Piedmont Region
• Falls of the Nottoway
• Falls of the James
• Northern Virginia
• Great Falls of the Potomac
• Scott’s Run Falls
• Piney Run Falls
• 12 More Virginia Waterfalls to Explore

West Virginia Waterfalls


• Map of West Virginia’s Waterfalls
• Upper New River Gorge and Bluestone River Tributaries
• Sandstone Falls
• Brush Creek Falls
• Kate’s Falls
• Lower Glade Creek Falls
• Claypool Falls
• Harvey Falls
• Big Branch Falls
• Homestead Falls
• Fall Branch Falls #1
• Fall Branch Falls #3
• Little Wolf Creek Falls
• Pipestem Falls
• White Oak Creek Falls
• Wolf Creek Falls
• Campbell Falls
• Mash Fork Falls
• Central New River Gorge
• Dunloup Creek Falls
• Wolf Creek Falls
• Marr Branch Falls
• Upper Fern Creek Falls
• Upper Falls of Craig Branch
• Upper Falls of Arbuckle Creek
• Double Falls
• The Little Brother
• Glade Creek Falls
• Keeneys Creek Falls
• Westerly Falls
• Marsh Fork Falls
• Black Fork Falls
• Lower New River Gorge and Gauley River Tributaries
• Mill Creek Falls
• Laurel Creek Falls (Cotton Hill)
• Cathedral Falls
• Ramsey Branch Falls
• Laurel Creek Falls
• Upper Turkey Creek Falls
• Lower Turkey Creek Falls
• Panther Creek Falls
• Bucklick Branch Falls
• Mountain Lakes
• Upper Falls of Holly River
• Lower Falls of Holly River
• Wildcat Falls
• Falls Mill Falls
• Arlington Falls at Fidlers Mill
• Little Run Falls
• Whitaker Falls
• Left Fork Falls
• Lincamp Branch Falls
• Blackwater Falls State Park
• Blackwater Falls
• Blackwater Falls: Gentle Trail Overlook
• Blackwater Falls: Lower Viewing Platform
• Elakala Falls #1
• Elakala Falls #2
• Upper Falls of Falls Run
• Lower Falls of Falls Run
• Pendleton Run #2
• Pendleton Run #3
• Pendleton Run #4
• Pendleton Run #5
• Potomac Highlands
• Lower Falls of Hills Creek
• Upper Falls of Hills Creek
• Middle Falls of Hills Creek
• Douglas Falls
• High Falls of the Cheat
• Kennedy Falls
• Upper Falls of Big Run
• Lower Red Creek Falls
• Red Creek Falls
• Mountaineer Country
• Valley Falls
• Twin Falls
• Big Cove Run
• Arden Falls (Moats Falls)
• Matador Falls
• Lower Falls of Deckers Creek
• 12 More West Virginia Waterfalls to Explore

10 More Tips

Waterfalls Checklist

About the Author