Middle Falls
North Carolina · height not recorded · Stone Mountain State Park · Last verified 2026-05-15
Middle Falls is running at 457 cfs — well above seasonal normal.
Right now
Streamflow
457 cfs
YADKIN RIVER AT ELKIN, · 49m ago
Overnight
69°F
Mostly Clear
Friday
87°F
Isolated Rain Showers then Scattered Showers And Thunderstorms
Today's daylight
Sunrise 6:14 AM · Sunset 8:44 PM · 14h 30m
Snapshot built 8m ago. Sources: USGS · NWS RNK.
No verified photo yet
Middle Falls is a waterfall in 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.
Middle Falls is in North Carolina. The falls are inside Stone Mountain State Park. The base sits at roughly 1,509 feet of elevation. Drive time is about 14 minutes from Sparta. A trail — Middle Falls Trail — runs within 10 meters of the marked location. No public parking is recorded within 2 km, so a longer approach is likely. It draws modest visitor attention — busier weekends, quiet weekdays. Source records come from OpenStreetMap.
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 02112250 · 14.4 mi away
YADKIN RIVER AT ELKIN, NC
— Distant gauge — proxy reading, not on the same drainage.
View live discharge data →
30-day streamflow
Above 30-day average↻ Same date last year: 2,000 cfs · 33% of last year — significantly drier
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Middle Falls (this page) | — | — | — | Y | Free |
| Stone Mountain Falls | 0 mi | — | — | Y | Free |
| Lower Falls | 0 mi | — | — | Y | Free |
| Bullhead Creek Falls | 2 mi | — | — | Y | Free |
| Widows Falls | 2 mi | — | — | Y | Free |
| Upper Widows Creek Falls | 3 mi | — | — | Y | Free |
Questions visitors ask about Middle Falls
Answers built from our structured data. If a question isn't here, the fact is unverified — we'd rather omit than guess.
Is Middle Falls in a national or state park?
Yes — Middle Falls is inside Stone Mountain 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 Middle Falls?
Yes — dogs are allowed (Stone Mountain 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 Middle Falls?
No entrance fee. Stone Mountain State Park is free to access. Some trailheads may charge a parking fee separately.
How far is Middle Falls from a major city?
Middle Falls is 10 miles from Sparta (about 14 minutes' drive).
More waterfalls in North Carolina
Where it is
36.3806, -81.0404
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 Middle Falls 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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