Cherokee National Forest · Tennessee, Georgia, North Carolina

Backbone Falls Trail

0.3 mi of trail, end to end · trail No. 198 · the forest publishes the line only

Begins at the forest's mile 0, 36.5934, -81.8152 - no trailhead mapped Drive to where the trail begins

Backbone Falls Hike the Forest Service's write-up

A short loop hike following a developed trail with rock steps and walkways that provides multiple viewpoints of the 45-foot Backbone Falls.

This hike on fs.usda.gov

Every trail in Cherokee National Forest

About this trail's facts

The lines are the US Forest Service's National Forest System trails layer (public domain), read 2026-10-16 and simplified for the map; the length is the line's, end to end, and the class, surface, grade and tread width are the forest's own entries where it publishes them - a forest that publishes the centreline alone has none. The trailheads and the points along the way are the Service's recreation points, and the write-ups its own recarea text, unedited. Heights come from USGS 3DEP through Terrain Tiles on AWS (Mapzen/Tilezen), read along each line and rounded; a short trail on steep ground can be off by a few tens of feet. Closures change: check the forest's own site before you go.