The 10 Best Waterfalls in West Virginia
West Virginia pours: amber bog-stained plunges, river-wide ledges on the ancient New, backcountry falls five miles past the last gravel road, and a horseshoe you can reach by excursion train. One honest asterisk — the Falls of Hills Creek boardwalk below the upper falls has been closed since March for storm damage, so its tallest tier waits.
Blackwater: the amber postcard of the state — paved overlook on one side, 200 steps into the spray on the other.
Directions, season & rules for Blackwater Falls →
Sandstone: the New River's 1,500-foot-wide staircase, boardwalked island to island.
Directions, season & rules for Sandstone Falls →Falls of Hills Creek: three falls in a rhododendron ravine — upper tier open, the 63-foot star awaiting its boardwalk repair.
Directions, season & rules for Falls of Hills Creek →High Falls of the Cheat: a hundred-foot horseshoe reached by mountain hike or excursion train — your pick.
Directions, season & rules for High Falls →
Falls of Seneca: five backcountry miles and a few creek fords to the Spruce Knob country's reward.
Directions, season & rules for Falls of Seneca →
Kanawha: a river-wide shelf below the New-Gauley confluence, viewed flat-footed from a fishing lot.
Directions, season & rules for Kanawha Falls →Brooks: Sandstone's upstream neighbor — picnic-area platform, Class III play wave.
Directions, season & rules for Brooks Falls →Whitaker: six feet tall, a hundred wide, and fed by a river that just spent five miles underground.
Directions, season & rules for Whitaker Falls →Tecumseh: Holly River's walk-behind veil on the gentle Reverie Trail.
Directions, season & rules for Tecumseh Falls →Tenskwatawa: the Prophet to Tecumseh's chief — the park's hidden half, over Potato Knob.
Directions, season & rules for Tenskwatawa Falls →Rankings reflect our research, not a verdict on your trip. Check access and conditions before you go.