Angel Falls Overlook Trail

Angel Falls Overlook Trail leads to a dramatic clifftop viewpoint above one of the Big South Fork River's most powerful rapids, a Class V+ whitewater feature that commands the gorge below. The Big South Fork River carves a spectacular gorge through the Cumberland Plateau here, with vertical sandstone walls dropping hundreds of feet to the river corridor. The overlook sits at the cliff edge directly above Angel Falls, where the river compresses through a series of massive boulders and drops in a thundering cascade visible from the overlook platform. The trail traverses the plateau rim forest before descending slightly to reach the overlook, passing through a mature sandstone ridge community with Virginia pine, mountain laurel, and chestnut oak. The gorge below hosts a diverse bird community including peregrine falcons that nest on the sandstone cliffs, and common ravens that have expanded their range into the Cumberland Plateau gorges in recent decades. The Big South Fork NRRA encompasses over 125,000 acres of protected gorge and plateau landscape managed by the National Park Service. No entrance fee is charged. The Leatherwood Ford trailhead provides access to this trail and several others in the river corridor. Spring and fall offer the most comfortable hiking conditions in this region.