Wayfarrow

Watauga Falls

Ghost town · Watauga County, North Carolina

Sherwood quadrangle, USGS topographic map (1935, 1:24,000)
Sherwood quadrangle, USGS topographic map (1935, 1:24,000) · U.S. Geological Survey, Historical Topographic Map Collection · Public domain

Watauga Falls is a ghost town in Watauga County, North Carolina. It is one of 5 former communities in Watauga County on the federal names register. That ranks the county 18th among the 48 North Carolina counties with a vanished settlement on record.

The U.S. Geological Survey lists Watauga Falls as a historical populated place on the Sherwood topographic quadrangle: the name is no longer in official use for a community, whether the settlement was abandoned, absorbed into a neighbouring town or renamed. The recorded location is 36.2510° N, 81.8551° W.

Key facts

USGS quadrangleSherwood
Elevation2,650 ft
Nearest living townBeech Mountain, NC
Distance to it3.3 miles
GNIS feature ID1017836
Coordinates36.25096, -81.85511

Open the location on a map

What's there now

Watauga Falls is no longer a community in its own right. The nearest living town is Beech Mountain, NC (population 831), about 3.3 miles away in a straight line, and the site sits at roughly 2,650 feet above sea level. Much of the land around former townsites is private; check access before you visit.

Nearby places

Questions

Where is Watauga Falls?

Watauga Falls is in Watauga County, North Carolina, at 36.2510, -81.8551.

How many ghost towns are in Watauga County?

Watauga County, North Carolina has 5 ghost towns on record at Wayfarrow.

Sources and licences

Facts marked "approximately" carry an uncertain date in the source. Text on this page is generated from the sources above; no encyclopedia prose is copied. Last updated 2026-11-05.