Meigs Falls
Tennessee · height not recorded · Great Smoky Mountains National Park · Last verified 2026-05-15
Flow at Meigs Falls is light today (49 cfs) — visit for the geology, not the volume. The park has an active closure alert: "Cherokee Orchard Road closed to pedestrian traffic."
Expect dry conditions today — don't drive out for this one. Flow is at 48.7 cfs (bottom 0% of the last 30 days, vs. 67.4 cfs average). The 7-day NOAA forecast shows no significant rain.
Right now
Streamflow
49 cfs
LITTLE RIVER ABOVE TOWNSEND, · 23m ago
Today
70°F
Sunny
Tonight
45°F
Mostly Clear
Today's daylight
Sunrise 6:49 AM · Sunset 5:47 PM · 10h 58m
Wildlife activity
- Cherokee Orchard Road closed to pedestrian traffic(Park Closure)
Other park alerts
- Park Headquarters Road is closed(Park Closure)
- Straight Fork and the one-way section of Balsam Mountain Road closed.(Park Closure)
- Most visitors need a parking tag(Information)
Snapshot built 11m ago. Sources: USGS · NWS MRX.
No verified photo yet
Meigs Falls is a waterfall in Tennessee. 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.
Meigs Falls is in Tennessee. The falls are inside Great Smoky Mountains National Park, a US National Park. The base sits at roughly 1,525 feet of elevation. Drive time is about 6 minutes from Townsend. A trail — Meigs Creek Trail — runs within 600 meters of the marked location. It draws modest visitor attention — busier weekends, quiet weekdays. Source records come from OpenStreetMap.
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 03497300 · 2.1 mi away
LITTLE RIVER ABOVE TOWNSEND, TN
View live discharge data →
30-day streamflow
Below 30-day average↻ Same date last year: 52.7 cfs · 92% 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Meigs Falls (this page) | — | — | — | N | — |
| Cane Creek Twin Falls | 1 mi | — | — | N | — |
| Meigs Creek Cascade | 1 mi | — | — | N | — |
| Spruce Flats Falls | 2 mi | — | — | N | — |
| Meadow Branch Cascade | 2 mi | — | — | N | — |
| Mannis Branch Falls | 3 mi | — | — | N | — |
Questions visitors ask about Meigs Falls
Answers built from our structured data. If a question isn't here, the fact is unverified — we'd rather omit than guess.
Is Meigs Falls in a national or state park?
Yes — Meigs Falls is inside Great Smoky Mountains National Park. See the park page for fees, hours, and current conditions.
Can I bring my dog to Meigs Falls?
No — dogs are not allowed on trails here. Most National Park trails prohibit pets to protect wildlife. Service animals are an exception per ADA.
How far is Meigs Falls from a major city?
Meigs Falls is 4 miles from Townsend (about 6 minutes' drive).
More waterfalls in Tennessee
Where it is
35.6689, -83.6751
Sources and live status
Where we got the data, and where to check current conditions before you drive.
Wikidata (Q34843933)
https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q34843933
GeoNames (10173860)
https://www.geonames.org/10173860/
Last verified by Fallspots: 2026-05-15
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