Linville River
Erwins View of Linville Falls
River View of Linville Falls
Plunge Basin View of Falls

The Linville Falls has two major trails that branch off into six views of the falls and gorge. The west side trail has views named the Upper Falls, Chimney, Erwins and Gorge Views. The eastern trail has views named Plunge Basin and Plunge Basin Overlook. Plunge Basin drops down into the lower falls area along the river bank. There is also the short Dugger's Creek trail that leads from the Visitor Center to the parking lot.

Note: Click on the pictures for a larger view or here to scroll through the photo gallery consisting of 30 photos.

  • Trail Signs

    Their trails are well marked.The sign to the left was the only vertical sign I saw. The rest were wooden signposts like those below. The signs at the trailheads give the mileage of trails at the start whereas the signs at the intersection are the remaining mileage of the trails where they branch off.

  • Plunge Basin Trail to River

    Looking south standing at the Visitor’s Center (your back to the parking lot) the Plunge Basin trail can be reached on the left and is clearly marked. You take a left on the trail heading southeast to reach the basin or the overlook. Turning right will put you on the Drugger’s Creek trail leading to the north end of the parking lot. The plunge Basin Trail starts off at a slight climb to the first branch of the trail leading to the river bank. This trail is .4 miles to the bottom and is very steep in places as well as rocky. My wife is seen in the photo at the bottom of the only set of steps on the trail.

  • Plunge Basin Trail Falls View

    A steep decent to the river via the Plunge Basin trail leads to the bottom of the falls and is very rocky. There are plenty of areas to settle down for a picnic and much deserved rest. The Upper Falls viewing area id located just above the falls in the picture. The river snakes around large boulders and disappears from view into the rocks at the Upper Falls viewing site whereas the actual falls can be seen from the overlook and the river banks.

  • Plunge Basin Overlook

    Taking the much easier (in comparison to the Plunge Basin descent) trail to the overlook leads to an area where a wall is erected to prevent visitors from falling off the steep clifside. From that vantage point you can see into the chasm where the river snakes around boulders at the top of the falls.

  • Erwin's View of the Falls

    On the western side of the park there are four overlook points. The highest point is Erwin’s View and the Gorge View. The picture to the left was taken from Erwin’s view. The Gorge view is just around the corner southeast of Erwin’s View Overlook. The overlook areas are surrounded by cemented rock walls to keep visitors from falling off the cliff.

  • Linville Gorge View

    This view of the gorge was taken from the Gorge Overlook area and is looking eastward into the gorge. You can see the top of the rock wall that surrounds the overlook area in the bottom of the photo. You can just barely identify the river in this photo. At this point the river is very narrow as winds sharply to the left of the photo to curve around the peak where the overlook is perched alongside Erwin’s View.

  • Linville Falls Trails Map

    You can find the map I used here.