About this spot
Stone Mountain Falls is a roughly 200-foot cascade over open granite in Stone Mountain State Park (Wilkes/Alleghany counties, near Traphill). Reach it via the orange-blazed Stone Mountain Loop Trail from Upper Trailhead parking, about 0.6 mile to the base. A shallow-to-waist-deep natural pool sits at the bottom, where dozens of people wade, swim, and take turns plunging in off the surrounding boulders on warm weekends. The real hazard is above the pool: the exposed granite face is slick even when dry, park signs warn against climbing the fencing or approaching the crest, and falls from the top have been fatal. As of August 2026 the loop trail section past the falls is closed for stair-replacement construction — check ncparks.gov before visiting. Swimming at the base is legal and popular; climbing the rock face is not.