Independent waterfall field guides

Waterfall guides with photos, maps, trails, and parking.

Find waterfall guides with photos, maps, trail notes, parking checks, directions, best-season advice, and safety details before you drive.

Browse 52 waterfall guides

Nugget Falls
Featured guide: Nugget Falls
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Featured waterfall guides

Each guide targets the practical waterfall searches people make before a trip: trail length, hike difficulty, parking, directions, photos, swimming rules, dog rules, accessibility, and best time to visit.

Nugget Falls waterfall guide
Juneau, Alaska

Nugget Falls

Plan Nugget Falls near Juneau, Alaska: 2 mi route details, parking and directions, best time to visit, safety notes, and 10 waterfall photos.

377 ft2 mi10 photos
Fish Creek Falls waterfall guide
Routt County, Colorado

Fish Creek Falls

Plan Fish Creek Falls in Routt County, Colorado: 0.5 mi route details, parking and directions, best time to visit, safety notes, and 8 waterfall photos.

280 ft0.5 mi8 photos
Watson Falls waterfall guide
Douglas County, Oregon

Watson Falls

Plan Watson Falls in Douglas County, Oregon: 0.6 mi route details, parking and directions, best time to visit, safety notes, and 8 waterfall photos.

272 ft0.6 mi8 photos
Dukes Creek Falls waterfall guide
Helen, Georgia

Dukes Creek Falls

Plan Dukes Creek Falls near Helen, Georgia: 1 mi route details, parking and directions, best time to visit, safety notes, and 8 waterfall photos.

250 ft1 mi8 photos
Latourell Falls waterfall guide
Multnomah County, Oregon

Latourell Falls

Plan Latourell Falls in Multnomah County, Oregon: 2.4 mi route details, parking and directions, best time to visit, safety notes, and 8 waterfall photos.

249 ft2.4 mi8 photos
Sitting Bull Falls waterfall guide
Carlsbad, New Mexico

Sitting Bull Falls

Plan Sitting Bull Falls near Carlsbad, New Mexico: 0.2 mi route details, parking and directions, best time to visit, safety notes, and 8 waterfall photos.

150 ft0.2 mi8 photos
Live water

What's running well right now.

Current USGS discharge for falls with paired gauges. The verdict compares the reading to the long-term median at that gauge.

Above typical641 cfsNugget FallsAlaskaRight around typical86 cfsHemmed-In-Hollow FallsArkansasWell above typical270 cfsFish Creek FallsColoradoBelow typical16 cfsWadsworth Falls State ParkConnecticutWell above typical92 cfsSmalls FallsMaineBelow typical-999999 cfsMiners FallsMichiganLive198 cfsOcqueoc FallsMichiganAbove typical36 cfsMinnehaha FallsMinnesota
By the season

Best swims of summer.

Potem Falls waterfall guide
Shasta County, California

Potem Falls

Plan Potem Falls in Shasta County, California: 0.4 mi route details, parking and directions, best time to visit, safety notes, and 4 waterfall photos.

70 ft0.4 mi4 photos
Blue Hole Falls waterfall guide
Helen, Georgia

Blue Hole Falls

Plan Blue Hole Falls near Helen, Georgia: 1 mi route details, parking and directions, best time to visit, safety notes, and 4 waterfall photos.

25 ft1 mi4 photos
Smalls Falls waterfall guide
Township E, Maine

Smalls Falls

Plan Smalls Falls near Township E, Maine: 0.5 mi route details, parking and directions, best time to visit, safety notes, and 4 waterfall photos.

54 ft0.5 mi4 photos
Ocqueoc Falls waterfall guide
Ocqueoc Township, Michigan

Ocqueoc Falls

Plan Ocqueoc Falls near Ocqueoc Township, Michigan: 0.3 mi route details, parking and directions, best time to visit, safety notes, and 4 waterfall photos.

5 ft0.3 mi4 photos
Diana's Baths waterfall guide
Bartlett, New Hampshire

Diana's Baths

Plan Diana's Baths near Bartlett, New Hampshire: 1.2 mi route details, parking and directions, best time to visit, safety notes, and 8 waterfall photos.

75 ft1.2 mi8 photos
Courthouse Falls waterfall guide
Transylvania County, North Carolina

Courthouse Falls

Plan Courthouse Falls in Transylvania County, North Carolina: 0.8 mi route details, parking and directions, best time to visit, safety notes, and 4 waterfall photos.

45 ft0.8 mi4 photos
Explore by intent

Find a fall that fits the day.

Short and easy
Easy waterfall hikes.

Short walks, paved or well-maintained, low elevation gain. Good for families and quick stops.

Swim
Falls with swim notes.

Which pools are legal to swim, which are closed, which are deceptively dangerous, which are cold-shock cold.

Photography
Best for photography.

Guides with strong photo coverage, working viewpoint notes, light direction, and crowd timing.

Winter access
Winter waterfall planning.

Which falls freeze into ice columns, which trails are gated, where to bring microspikes.

By location
Interactive map.

Every published guide on one map, clustered by region, with hero photos in the marker popups.

Multi-stop
Trip ideas.

State-anchored road trips that string several published guides together with drive times.

Practical guides

Every page answers the questions you have before you drive: trail, parking, fees, hours, dogs, swim policy, and what the falls actually looks like at the flow you'll get.

Live data

USGS discharge readings and NOAA forecasts pulled at build time. Real numbers, not vibes.

Honest uncertainty

When sources disagree on a height or a fee, we report both. When a fact is unknown, we say so.

Browse by state

Waterfall hubs.