A Family's Guide to Summer in Highlands: Waterfalls, Alpine Coasters, and Cool Mountain Days

By Jon Tharp, Broker  ·  July 1, 2026

Picture your kids standing on a paved path, looking out through a curtain of falling water. At Dry Falls, just northwest of Highlands, that is the whole experience. The trail is short, the walk behind the 80-foot falls is the payoff, and nobody has to be talked into it. This is the kind of easy win that makes Highlands work for families in summer.

Set at 4,118 feet in the southern Blue Ridge, Highlands is one of the highest towns you will find east of the Mississippi. That elevation matters. While the lower country bakes through July and August, the average daily high here sits around 74 degrees. The town was founded in 1875 as a summer health resort for people escaping the heat, and more than a century later, that is still a big part of why families point their cars up the mountain.

What makes it easy is how close everything is. You can shape a day around a short walk and a picnic, or add ziplines and gem mining, or duck indoors for art and live animals when a mountain shower rolls through. Here is how to plan a summer day, weekend, or long stay in Highlands with kids in tow.

Waterfalls Made for Small Legs

Highlands sits in waterfall country, and the best part is that several of the good ones ask almost nothing of little hikers.

Dry Falls is the headliner. The path is paved and short, and the whole point is walking behind the water where the Cullasaja River pours over an 80-foot ledge. Kids get the thrill of standing inside the roar without getting drenched. It sits on the Cullasaja River Gorge along the Mountain Waters Scenic Byway, which is a scenic drive worth taking slow.

Bridal Veil Falls is even simpler. It is right off US Highway 64, about three miles northwest of town. The road that once ran behind it is closed for rockfall safety now, but you can still walk up and take it in. It makes a nice quick stop on the way to somewhere else.

For families ready to stretch their legs a bit, Glen Falls delivers a triple waterfall with several viewpoints along a roughly two-mile round-trip. The trail is rated easy, with one honest catch: the hike back is uphill, so save some snacks and patience for the return.

Older kids with more trail time under them can graduate to Secret Falls, also called Big Shoals Falls, which is more rustic than the in-town walks but rewarding. Whiteside Mountain is another classic for families with sure-footed teenagers, offering some of the widest views on the whole plateau.

Live Animals and Easy Nature Walks

If your family likes the idea of learning something without it feeling like school, start at the Highlands Biological Station and its Nature Center. This is a UNC-affiliated research and education station, and the Nature Center is where kids get the fun part. Live animals, hands-on exhibits, and easy walking areas near the lake and creeks give younger children plenty to point at.

The adjoining Highlands Botanical Garden is a quieter draw, full of native plants and gentle paths. It is a good place for a slow stroll when you want the outdoors without a real hike. Historically the Nature Center has been free or donation-based, though it is worth checking current hours and admission before you go, since seasonal schedules shift.

The Nature Center also runs summer nature camps for kids roughly age five and up, which is worth knowing if you are settling in for a longer mountain stay and want a few structured mornings.

One of the smartest things Highlands offers families is the Kids Hike Highlands Challenge. Pick up a map at the Nature Center or the Welcome Center, follow the participating trails, collect stamps along the way, and earn a prize when you finish. It turns a series of ordinary walks into a small adventure with a goal, which is exactly the kind of thing that keeps a seven-year-old moving up a trail.

From the Nature Center, you can carefully cross the street and climb up to Ravenel Park and Sunset Rock. It is a short climb with a big reward: open rock, wide mountain views, and one of the easiest scenic overlooks near town. Sunset is the popular hour, but the view holds up any time of day.

Trails You Can Reach Without Driving

Not every outing needs a trailhead in the national forest. The Highlands Plateau Greenway connects in-town trails, natural areas, and historic sites, which means you can log a real walk without loading everyone back into the car.

The Highlands Recreation Park Trail is a good place to start on the greenway. From there the connected paths make it easy to string together a longer or shorter loop depending on how much energy the group has left. Because it links so many spots around town, the greenway is the closest thing Highlands has to a family walking network.

There is also a clever touch for the youngest walkers. At The Bascom, the town's visual arts center, the Read2Me Story Walk gives little kids a reason to keep going by turning a walk into a story they read page by page along the path. It connects nicely with the greenway and folds art, reading, and fresh air into a single easy outing.

The Bascom itself is worth building a rainy afternoon around. As the arts anchor of Highlands, it offers indoor galleries and family programming, which makes it a reliable backup plan when the sky opens up. Between the greenway, the story walk, and the galleries, one small campus covers a surprising range of moods and weather.

The Big-Adventure Day

When walking in the woods is not enough, Highlands has some real thrills close by.

The one kids talk about afterward is the Scaly Mountain Screamer, the alpine coaster at Highlands Outpost in Scaly Mountain. At more than 3,800 feet, it is the longest mountain coaster in North Carolina. It opened in late 2021, runs about eight to nine minutes, and gives each rider a hand brake so you control your own speed down the mountain. Younger kids can cruise, older ones can let it rip.

Highlands Outpost packs more than the coaster onto one property. There is a gem mine, trout fishing, and summer tubing that runs around 35 to 40 dollars for a couple of hours. Tubing tickets are sold on site with no reservations, and hours depend on the weather, so it pays to check before you drive out to 7420 Dillard Road.

For families who want to get up into the trees, Highlands Aerial Park offers ziplines, aerial adventure courses, a giant swing, and trails that lead to a waterfall and a suspension bridge. It is the kind of place where teenagers and brave parents can burn off a whole afternoon.

Highland Excursion runs guided, kid-friendly eco-tours, including a private gem-mine tour along the Cullasaja Gorge. If the weather turns, indoor gem mining at the Jackson Hole Gem Mine and Trading Post keeps the treasure hunt going under a roof. And for water, Sapphire Valley Resort's Fairfield Lake offers kayaks, canoes, paddleboards, and a swimming beach a short drive away.

Downtown, Ice Cream, and Rainy Afternoons

Part of the appeal of Highlands is that the town itself is easy to enjoy. Downtown is compact and walkable, lined with family restaurants, ice cream shops, and storefronts that make an unstructured afternoon feel like a plan.

The center of family life outdoors is Kelsey-Hutchinson Founders Park on Pine Street. Named for town founders Samuel Kelsey and Clinton Hutchinson, the park is a downtown green with a lawn, picnic space, and a splash pad that gives kids a place to cool off on a warm day. It often hosts community events through the summer, so it is worth checking what is happening while you are in town.

When the mountain weather does what mountain weather does, Highlands has more indoor options than a town this size has any right to. The year-round covered pool complex is a dependable rainy-day plan. The Bascom's galleries and the Nature Center's live animals both keep kids engaged under cover. The public library is a quiet reset when everyone needs one.

History offers another indoor angle. The Highlands Historic Village preserves the Elizabeth Wright Prince House, one of the oldest homes in town, and it is a gentle way to give kids a sense of how this summer resort came to be. Founded in 1875 by two developers who drew lines on a map from Chicago to Savannah and New Orleans to New York and bet a town would rise where they crossed, Highlands has a founding story that is fun to tell a curious kid.

That mix is the whole point. Highlands stays cool while the rest of the region swelters, and it hands families a full range of ways to spend a day, from a stroll behind a waterfall to a coaster down a mountainside. If a summer up here has you wondering what it would be like to call the plateau home, I am always happy to talk about what living in Highlands actually looks like.

 

Frequently Asked Questions

What are the best waterfalls near Highlands for kids?

Dry Falls is the top pick for families because the paved path is short and kids can walk behind the 80-foot curtain of water without getting soaked. It sits on the Cullasaja River Gorge along the Mountain Waters Scenic Byway just northwest of town. Bridal Veil Falls is even easier, right off US Highway 64, where you can view it on foot. Glen Falls offers a roughly two-mile round-trip with several viewpoints, though families should remember the return hike is uphill. All three are within a short drive of downtown Highlands.

How long is the alpine coaster at Highlands Outpost?

The Scaly Mountain Screamer at Highlands Outpost is more than 3,800 feet long, which makes it the longest mountain coaster in North Carolina. It opened in November 2021 and runs about eight to nine minutes from top to bottom. Each cart has a rider-controlled hand brake, so kids and parents can go as fast or as slow as they want. Highlands Outpost is located at 7420 Dillard Road in Scaly Mountain, a short drive from downtown Highlands. The same property also offers gem mining, trout fishing, and summer tubing, so it is easy to make a half-day of it.

What is there to do in Highlands on a rainy day with kids?

Rainy days in Highlands are easy to fill. The Bascom, the town's visual arts center, offers indoor galleries and family art programming. Indoor gem mining at spots like the Jackson Hole Gem Mine and Trading Post lets kids sluice for stones no matter the weather. The Highlands Nature Center has live animals and exhibits under cover. The town also has a year-round covered pool complex, a public library, and a walkable downtown full of ice cream shops and family restaurants. History lovers can visit the Highlands Historic Village, which preserves some of the oldest homes in town.

Why is Highlands cooler than the rest of the region in summer?

Highlands sits at 4,118 feet above sea level, which makes it one of the highest incorporated towns east of the Mississippi River. That elevation keeps average summer daily highs around 74 degrees, noticeably cooler than the surrounding foothills and the cities to the south. The town was actually founded in 1875 as a summer health resort for exactly this reason, giving families from hotter climates a place to escape the heat. It is why the year-round population of about 1,100 swells past 20,000 in the warm months.