Slick Rock Falls

From the looks of things, Slick Rock Falls is aptly named. When we arrived, we were startled to find a dead deer at the base of the falls. I suppose it died when it fell from cliff above. Sorry for the disturbing photo, I tried to obscure the deer as much as possible -- I actually had planned on removing the deer via Photoshop, but then I realized that it pretty much tells the story of a place named Slick Rock Falls. To add insult to injury, this was a large buck and some idiot crudely removed the antlers from the animal. Even without the dead deer to work around, it was still a difficult waterfall to capture, the bright afternoon sun doing nothing to help the situation! Click here to see some beautiful, much less disturbing photos taken of the falls under better conditions.

Slick Rock is an easy-to-get-to waterfall near Brevard, NC. This time of year, it can be seen through the trees from the road. A short trail takes you past a kiosk and then the trail splits, the right fork leads to the base of the 30' falls. The left fork, by the way, leads to the base of Looking Glass Rock, a popular destination for rock climbers. During dry months, Slick Rock Falls is reduced to a mere trickle, so this is one you want to visit during the spring or after some heavy rains. I'm also told that this is one of the better waterfalls to visit in the winter to see icicles hanging along the edge of the cliff.

Directions: From the intersection of N.C. Route 280 and U.S. Routes 64 and 275 outside of Brevard, turn north on Route 276 and drive for 5.2 miles, take a left onto F.R. 475 and drive 1.5 miles. Turn right onto the F.R. 475B, which is a gravel road, and drive 1.1 miles to a roadside parking area on your right immediately after a sharp left curve in the road.