Crabtree Falls is located in the George Washington National Forest and is known for being one of the tallest sets of waterfalls in the United States East of the Mississippi River. This waterfall features a set of five different cascading waterfalls with the tallest one being 400 feet (120m). The combined height of the waterfalls is around 1,200 feet (370m). As an avid waterfall chaser I had to add this one to my list.

I woke up very early to hike this waterfall (or shall I say series of waterfalls). Personally I was expecting a massive waterfall, and was a little disappointed that a lot of my research was slightly misleading.  Although they call it the tallest waterfall in the East, it is actually the tallest series of cascading waterfalls, all still very beautiful!

My friends kept bailing with it being so cold out so I decided to trek on alone. It was about a 2 hour drive from where I was staying in Richmond. It was very cold out that morning so I made sure to dress accordingly.

With it being winter time there was next to no one on this trail. The elevation was pretty steep and it was around 2 miles to the top. I made sure to be very careful and watch my footing because everything was very icy and slippery. There were many warning signs not to steer off the path. Around 29 people have fallen to their death here from not being careful. I had to make sure I wasn’t part of that statistic.

This hike was a lot of fun following the waterfall to the very top. The terrain was pretty steep, but worth the trek! I was lucky to have this waterfall all to myself! I can’t imagine how busy it must be during the summer time. I passed a couple people on the way down and did my best to jog down without falling.  When I returned to my car it was around a 4 mile hike. Time to check seeing the tallest waterfall in Virginia off my list! My friends sure did miss out!

Length: 4 miles round trip

HOURS AND ADMISSION

Crabtree Falls is open year round and there is a $3 parking fee when you enter the parking lot.

DRIVING DIRECTIONS

Crabtree falls is located about an hour and four minutes just outside of Charlottesville. Crabtree falls can be reached from many different directions and is located off of Crabtree Falls Highway. I did not have service out in this area and I did get a little lost. Putting in the parking lot in your GPS will be very helpful. If you are coming from the east, the parking lot is just past the Crabtree Falls Campground.

MAP OF THE FALLS