If my last scenic drives piece taught me anything, it’s that Yahoo readers love a road that does the scenic work for you. So consider this round two — same idea, but every road trip ends with a waterfall (and sometimes begins with one, or has some in the middle, or both). These are America’s best waterfall drives, where you don’t even have to hike to earn the view.
Columbia River Gorge Historic Highway, Oregon
This is the waterfall drive against which all other waterfall drives should be measured. The 75-mile route follows the Columbia River and passes more than 77 waterfalls, including Multnomah Falls, one of the most photographed waterfalls in the country. (Head’s up: You’ll need a timed permit from late May to early September.)
The road itself dates back to the early 1900s and clings to cliffs above the river the entire way. Budget extra time — you will not be able to drive past all 77 without stopping for at least a dozen of them — and expect traffic and full parking lots in summer. (I speak from experience!)
North Shore Scenic Drive, Minnesota
Minnesota doesn’t get nearly enough credit for its beauty. This route follows the rugged shoreline of Lake Superior, with dramatic cliffs, waterfalls, forests, rocky beaches, and charming lakeside towns the whole way north toward the Canadian border. Gooseberry Falls is the showstopper, but the real magic is how often the lake looks like an ocean. Which is the whole time — if you’ve been to the Great Lakes, you understand. (Tip: Stop in Grand Marais for the “World’s Best Donuts.”)
Highway 32, Tucker County, West Virginia
West Virginia is a quiet waterfall star, and this drive through Canaan Valley is the reason why. It connects the towns of Davis and Thomas, with Blackwater Falls State Park sitting right between them — a 62-foot waterfall that marks the start of the rugged Blackwater Canyon. Bonus: the park is also home to Elakala Falls, a four-part cascade most visitors don’t even know to look for.
Cherokee Foothills Scenic Highway, South Carolina
Upstate South Carolina has the heaviest concentration of waterfalls in the eastern U.S. — more than 50 waterfalls sit within the Blue Ridge Escarpment alone. Drive this route, and you’ll pass Wildcat Branch Falls right off the road, then can detour onto Highway 276 to end at Falls Park on the Reedy in Greenville, where a suspension bridge lets you walk directly over the cascade. (It used to be covered by a highway; thankfully, locals realized that was a terrible way to live in a waterfall town.)
Highway 1 to Big Sur, California
You already know Highway 1 for the cliffs. What you may not know is that it delivers you straight to McWay Falls, an 80-foot waterfall that drops onto a beach inside Julia Pfeiffer Burns State Park — a spot so popular it draws roughly 7 million visitors a year. It’s one of the only four waterfalls in the country that empties directly onto sand, which feels like cheating, geologically speaking. And for the first time in 3 years, the drive along Big Sur’s coast is open.
Spearfish Canyon Scenic Byway, South Dakota
The Black Hills don’t get nearly enough credit for their waterfalls, just as South Dakota doesn’t get its due, either. This 19-mile byway runs between towering limestone cliffs and is the best place in the Black Hills to see waterfalls. The star of the no-hiking show is Bridal Veil Falls — a roughly 60-foot cascade with its own parking lot and an observation platform built right next to the highway. Pull over, snap your photos, and get back in the car. It’s basically a drive-thru waterfall. (There are two more nearby, like the fabulous Spearfish Falls, accessible via family-friendly 0.7-mile out-and-back trail.)
Tioga Road, Yosemite, California
Yes, Yosemite again — how could this list not include Yosemite? This time, take Tioga Road instead of the valley loop. Along the way, Rainbow Pools offers a 15-foot waterfall splashing into a natural swimming hole, and the high country views from Olmsted Point rival anything in the park. It’s the same Yosemite magic, minus the valley-floor crowds.
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