Lower Cascades
North Carolina · height not recorded · Hanging Rock State Park · Last verified 2026-05-15
Lower Cascades is running at 63 cfs — well above seasonal normal.
Right now
Streamflow
62.7 cfs
DAN RIVER NEAR FRANCISCO, · 1h ago
Overnight
70°F
Mostly Clear
Friday
90°F
Mostly Sunny then Scattered Showers And Thunderstorms
Today's daylight
Sunrise 6:11 AM · Sunset 8:41 PM · 14h 30m
Snapshot built 8m ago. Sources: USGS · NWS RNK.
Lower Cascades is a waterfall in Stokes County, North Carolina. Height has not been officially recorded. Access details and conditions have not yet been verified in person by Fallspots — the data on this page comes from OpenStreetMap and USGS GNIS.
Lower Cascades sits in Stokes County, North Carolina. The falls are inside Hanging Rock State Park. The base sits at roughly 1,086 feet of elevation. Drive time is about 5 minutes from Danbury. A trail — Lower Cascades Trail — runs within 30 meters of the marked location. It draws modest visitor attention — busier weekends, quiet weekdays. Source records come from OpenStreetMap and USGS GNIS.
Entry is free. Dogs on leash are welcome on the access trail.
Is the water flowing right now?
Most waterfall sites don't tell you this. The waterfall itself is almost never gauged, but a USGS streamgage in the same watershed can tell you whether snowmelt has started, peaked, or run dry.
USGS gage 02068500 · 7.2 mi away
DAN RIVER NEAR FRANCISCO, NC
View live discharge data →
30-day streamflow
Above 30-day average↻ Same date last year: 155 cfs · 75% of last year — similar
Compare to nearby falls
If this one isn't the right fit, here's how it stacks up against the closest documented falls. Every column is filterable on the site — not buried in 13,000 reviews.
| Waterfall | Distance | Height | Trail | Dogs | Fee |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lower Cascades (this page) | — | — | — | Y | Free |
| Window Falls | 1 mi | — | — | Y | Free |
| Hidden Falls | 1 mi | — | — | Y | Free |
| Tise falls | 1 mi | — | — | Y | Free |
| Upper Casscades | 1 mi | — | — | Y | Free |
| Torys Falls | 2 mi | — | — | Y | Free |
Questions visitors ask about Lower Cascades
Answers built from our structured data. If a question isn't here, the fact is unverified — we'd rather omit than guess.
Is Lower Cascades in a national or state park?
Yes — Lower Cascades is inside Hanging Rock State Park. We inferred this from OpenStreetMap protected-area polygons; if you find we got the boundary wrong, please report it. See the park page for fees, hours, and current conditions.
Can I bring my dog to Lower Cascades?
Yes — dogs are allowed (Hanging Rock State Park permits leashed dogs in most areas). Inferred from park type; check the official site for trail-specific restrictions. Always leash and pack out waste.
Is there a fee to visit Lower Cascades?
No entrance fee. Hanging Rock State Park is free to access. Some trailheads may charge a parking fee separately.
How far is Lower Cascades from a major city?
Lower Cascades is 3 miles from Danbury (about 5 minutes' drive).
More waterfalls in North Carolina
Where it is
36.4148, -80.2684
Sources and live status
Where we got the data, and where to check current conditions before you drive.
Last verified by Fallspots: 2026-05-15
Been there?
Marina and Theo verify pages one road trip at a time. If you've been to Lower Cascades recently, your local knowledge improves the page for everyone. Pick the kind of contribution that fits — every email lands in our inbox and gets read (and credited when we publish).
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