Looking Glass is a rare treat as it is a significant fall and it can be observed from the car! I have been to this fall several times and it has yet to disappoint.
As you head to the fall there are spaces on the side of the road to parallel park and if the weather is even close to nice, during the middle of the day, the fall will be packed with people so even though you can see it from the road, if you park you might be walking! Once at the fall you will notice steps and an observation deck. Not at all a bad place to sit and take in Looking glass. For our last trip, I was determined to get in the water. I live in Florida and routinely get into the springs which keep a content temperature of 72 degrees so I figured, " No big Deal"... This water almost took my breath. That water was COLD! However after about 5 minutes your body will start going into mild hypothermia and you will stop feeling the cold. Although dangerous, quiet useful body function!
As you can see, I am not the only one in the water. When we first got here, the place was packed with swimmers but had cleared out as the sun was about an hour from setting.
There are rocks at the immediate base of the falls to sit on as the water falls 60 odd feet smashing onto your back but the pool further out is 6+ feet deep. I swam around for 20 minutes or so before I stopped feeling my toes and got out.
As you head to the fall there are spaces on the side of the road to parallel park and if the weather is even close to nice, during the middle of the day, the fall will be packed with people so even though you can see it from the road, if you park you might be walking! Once at the fall you will notice steps and an observation deck. Not at all a bad place to sit and take in Looking glass. For our last trip, I was determined to get in the water. I live in Florida and routinely get into the springs which keep a content temperature of 72 degrees so I figured, " No big Deal"... This water almost took my breath. That water was COLD! However after about 5 minutes your body will start going into mild hypothermia and you will stop feeling the cold. Although dangerous, quiet useful body function!
As you can see, I am not the only one in the water. When we first got here, the place was packed with swimmers but had cleared out as the sun was about an hour from setting.
There are rocks at the immediate base of the falls to sit on as the water falls 60 odd feet smashing onto your back but the pool further out is 6+ feet deep. I swam around for 20 minutes or so before I stopped feeling my toes and got out.
Looking Glass Falls is defiantly kid friendly as the paved path gets you extremely close to the falls. To get here is not hard but can be if you don't know where to go so I will do my best as there are not a lot of great reference points to start from. We will start near Brevard NC south west of Asheville. Brevard sits to the south of the Pisgah National Forest so this will work as a starting point as Looking Glass is inside the forest. In Brevard, locate Us Hwy 276-64 and follow it north where it will split. 64 goes right and 276 goes left into the forest. Hwy 280 continues straight ahead. Shortly after the left onto 276 you will come to the Pisgah Ranger station. Keep going through the valley another 4 miles and the parking will come up on the right side of the road.
Have fun!!
Have fun!!
