Mountain Waters Scenic Byway

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The Mountain Waters Scenic Byway is a two-lane highway in North Carolina, which travles through the Nantahala National Forest in Macon and Swain County, North Carolina counties and has been designated by the U.S. Forest Service as a National Scenic Byway. The first part of this 61.3-mile byway follows the combined route of U.S. 64 and NC 28 from Highlands, North Carolina to Franklin, North Carolina and features views of the Cullasaja Gorge, the Cullasaja River and numerous waterfalls, including:

Bridal Veil Falls, on a creek that is a tributary of the Cullasaja River
Dry Falls, which visitors can walk behind without getting wet
Cullasaja Falls, the major cascade of falls on the Cullasaja River.

From Franklin, the Mountain Waters Scenic Byway follows SR 1442 to the west, climbing through Wynah Gap (elevation: 4,180 ft) on the way to Nantahala Lake and then to the community of Aquone. From Aquone, SR 1442 follows the Nantahala River to Beechertown, where it joins U.S. 19/74, which the byway follows to its ending point in the community of Lauada. The route from Aquone to Lauada features the Nantahala Gorge.