Upper Wildcat Falls
South Carolina · height not recorded · Mountain Bridge Wilderness Area · Last verified 2026-05-15
Flow at Upper Wildcat Falls is light today (5 cfs) — visit for the geology, not the volume.
Right now
Streamflow
4.56 cfs
SOUTH SALUDA RIVER NEAR · 1h ago
Overnight
68°F
Mostly Clear
Friday
91°F
Mostly Sunny then Chance Showers And Thunderstorms
Today's daylight
Sunrise 6:24 AM · Sunset 8:46 PM · 14h 23m
Snapshot built 4m ago. Sources: USGS · NWS GSP.
Upper Wildcat Falls is a waterfall in South 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.
Upper Wildcat Falls is in South Carolina. The falls are inside Mountain Bridge Wilderness Area. The base sits at roughly 1,424 feet of elevation. Drive time is about 3 minutes from Caesars Head. A trail — Wildcat Wayside Nature Trail — runs within 50 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 02162290 · 3.2 mi away
SOUTH SALUDA RIVER NEAR CLEVELAND, SC
View live discharge data →
30-day streamflow
Below 30-day average↻ Same date last year: 11.1 cfs · 40% 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Upper Wildcat Falls (this page) | — | — | — | Y | Free |
| Middle Wildcat Falls | 0 mi | — | — | Y | Free |
| Lower Wildcat Falls | 0 mi | — | — | Y | Free |
| Upper New Millennium Falls | 0 mi | — | — | Y | Free |
| Middle New Millennium Falls | 0 mi | — | — | Y | Free |
| Lower New Millennium Falls | 0 mi | — | — | Y | Free |
Questions visitors ask about Upper Wildcat Falls
Answers built from our structured data. If a question isn't here, the fact is unverified — we'd rather omit than guess.
Is Upper Wildcat Falls in a national or state park?
Yes — Upper Wildcat Falls is inside Mountain Bridge Wilderness Area. 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 Upper Wildcat Falls?
Yes — dogs are allowed (Mountain Bridge Wilderness Area 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 Upper Wildcat Falls?
No entrance fee. Mountain Bridge Wilderness Area is free to access. Some trailheads may charge a parking fee separately.
How far is Upper Wildcat Falls from a major city?
Upper Wildcat Falls is 2 miles from Caesars Head (about 3 minutes' drive).
More waterfalls in South Carolina
Where it is
35.0792, -82.5968
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 Upper Wildcat 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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