High Falls

This used to be one of the most impressive falls in the area. Unfortunately, all the water is diverted around the falls by the Thorpe Dam (or Glenville Dam, depending on who you ask) to the powerhouse far downstream.

Now, as part of relicensing its dams with the government, Duke Power had agreed to let some water over the falls for whitewater kayakers and also build a trail to a put-in at the base of the falls. When I heard this news, I thought we had scored a nice win for the outdoors community. Unfortunately, the relicensing project is tied up in litigation over the Dillsboro Dam. Duke was supposed to remove the dam to provide "environmental mitigation", which could then be used like credit to ruin the environment elsewhere. But the town of Dillsboro doesn't want the dam removed.

If this mess is ever solved and the trail is built, this falls will become highly recommended (when they're letting water out of the lake, of course). Until then, it is located on private property and is inaccessible to the public.