Bust Your Butt Falls, NC — It's Not the Swimming Hole You Think

Locals call it Bust Your Butt Falls. If you've read about it online you probably think you're driving to a swimming hole — and I want to set your expectations before you make that drive. I filmed this on location. Everything below is what I found on the ground. WHAT I ACTUALLY FOUND There is no entry point. No trail down, no steps, no cleared bank, nowhere to set a chair. The whole area below the pull-off is boulders, stacked and scattered right down to the water. When I visited there was nobody in the water at all. What IS here is genuinely beautiful — a wide sheet of water sliding down bare granite into a deep green pool, with the gorge closing in around it. It's a place you look at, not a place you use. WHERE IT IS Directly on US-64 in the Cullasaja Gorge, a few miles west of Dry Falls, between Highlands and Franklin NC. About 90 minutes south of Asheville. PARKING Gravel pull-off on the shoulder, holds a handful of cars. Get completely off the pavement — US-64 is a mountain highway with blind curves and fast traffic. Free, no gate, no restrooms. THE NAME The granite is smooth and steeper than it photographs, with ridges and edges under the sheet of water. Depth changes with rainfall. "Bust Your Butt" reads more like a description of the usual outcome than an affectionate nickname. No lifeguard. No ranger. Nobody whose job it is to notice you're in trouble. FAIRNESS NOTE I visited after rain, on a weekday in early September, and had it to myself. Conditions change with season and rainfall — on a hot July weekend you may find people in the water. Trust what's in front of you over what I filmed. BETTER SWIMMING NEARBY Sliding Rock (Pisgah) has lifeguards and posted rules. Hooker Falls (DuPont) has a flat walk and a gentle bank. Nearest ER: Highlands-Cashiers Hospital, 190 Hospital Dr, Highlands NC — 24 hours, about THE CULLASAJA GORGE Four waterfalls in about 8 miles of US-64: Cullasaja Falls, Quarry Falls, Dry Falls and Bridal Veil Falls. Episode 7 — Dry Falls:    • Walk BEHIND This 75-Foot Waterfall — Dry F...   Episode 8 — Bridal Veil Falls:   • You Can NO LONGER Drive Under Bridal Veil ...   #BustYourButtFalls #CullasajaGorge #HighlandsNC