7-11-05 - Mingo Falls is located in the Qualla Indian Reservation in Cherokee, NC. There are several ways to get there - here's the way I go from west Asheville. Take I-40 west and get off at the Hwys 19, 23, 74 exit. I believe it's exit #27. Follow this south and take the 19 south exit towards Maggie Valley. Follow 19 south to the Blue Ridge Parkway and head south on the Parkway. The Parkway ends near Cherokee at Hwy 441. You used to be able to take a right, go .8 miles (pass the Oconaluftee Visitor Center), and take a right on an unnamed road that goes back to the Job Corp Center. I just tried this and you can not get over to Big Cove Rd this way any more! Crews were working on the Big Cove Rd side, but I don't know if they will eventually reconnect the roads again.

Instead, turn left off of the Parkway, drive about 1/2 mile and turn left at the sign pointing to Big Cove Rd. Drive to the end of it and turn left on to Big Cove. Follow this road for about 4.5 miles, passing the KOA Campground on the right. Start looking for a small sign saying 'Mingo Falls Next Right" and take that road - Mingo Falls Bridge Rd - over the bridge to the parking area at the trail head. The trail to the falls is only 1/4 mile, but heads up about 150 stairs, levels off and ends at a small wooden bridge that crosses Mingo Creek in front of the falls. I've seen estimates from 120' to 200' for the height of this beauty - take your pick. You really need to visit the waterfall after some heavy rains. The above picture was from my 1st trip to the falls in mid May 2003 and to be honest, I don't remember if it had rained or not. I had a 3MP camera then. I returned to Mingo Falls in July '04 for a reshoot after I got my latest camera, but was disappointed to see it in this condition -

It wasn't a particularly dry period, so I wasn't sure what the deal was. I went back another time after some rain and found it with a bit more water, but nothing like the 1st image. We've had way too much rain here lately (summer 2005) and I finally had another opportunity to revisit the falls. I picked a morning where we had had overnight rain and rain when I left. It poured when I got on the Parkway past Soco Gap, but quit by the time I reached Cherokee. When I got to the falls, it still didn't look like the 1st image, but I stayed around hoping the rains from the Parkway would fill the waterfall. About 30 minutes later, my patience paid off and the waterfall now looked like this -

Unfortunately, the tourists came back out when the rain quit and the bridge was soon crowded. There is a smaller 15-20' falls above the main waterfall and people do climb up the left bank to take a look. It's steep and you need to be part mountain goat to get up safely. This picture is from my 1st visit and the green moss on the rocks in the falls don't show up with all the water coming down the creek.