This Land, Your Land

The Romantic Asheville Web site polled its readers to determine the Top 10 waterfalls in North Carolina's Blue Ridge Mountains. A news release lists them:

1. Sliding Rock: Each summer, thousands of children and adults slip and slide down this natural, 60-foot cascade over a sloping boulder in the Pisgah National Forest.

2. DuPont State Forest: A three-mile easy hike takes you to the bases of three waterfalls: Hooker, Triple (below) and the 150-foot High Falls.

3. Looking Glass Falls: One of the most visited waterfalls in North Carolina is alongside U.S. 276 north of Brevard, near the Blue Ridge Parkway.

4. Graveyard Fields: This popular hiking area on the Blue Ridge Parkway features a loop trail that takes you to two waterfalls on the Yellowstone Prong. Second Falls is just 1/3 mile from the parking area.

5. Rainbow Falls: This spectacular 150-foot waterfall is located in the Nantahala National Forest with access via a new hiking trail from Gorges State Park. A little farther up the wild and scenic Horsepasture River, slide and swim at Turtleback Falls.

6. Linville Falls: From the Blue Ridge Parkway, Erwins View Trail is a moderate hike of 1.6 miles round trip with four overlooks, each revealing a different aspect of the falls and Linville Gorge.

7. Upper Whitewater Falls (below): This is the tallest waterfall east of the Rockies, plunging 411 feet and viewable via a short paved trail.

8. Hickory Nut Falls: This 404-foot waterfall at Chimney Rock Park was featured in the movie "The Last of the Mohicans." Hickory Nut Falls is a perfect example of what geologists call a "hanging valley."

9. Crabtree Falls: This beautiful 70-foot waterfall, near Linville Falls, is accessed by a 2.5-mile loop hiking trail from the Blue Ridge Parkway.

10. Glen Falls (below): This beautiful setting near Highlands in the Nantahala National Forest has three separate 60-foot drops on a 1.5-mile roundtrip hike.