A 24-year old woman has died after falling 160 feet from the brink of Rainbow Falls, a waterfall located on the Horsepasture River in North Carolina’s Gorges State Park.
According to Lake Toxaway’s Deputy Fire Chief Bobby Cooper, the search for the young woman—who was apparently swimming at a popular hole up river of the falls when she was taken under by the current— was initiated around 4 P.M. Thursday afternoon, but her body was not recovered until approximately 8:30 P.M that evening.
Rainbow Falls is located in a remote section of Gorges State Park, which sits near Lake Toxaway and the small town of Sapphire, NC. Access requires a 1.5 mile hike from the Grassy Ridge parking lot.
Rescuers reportedly carried the young woman’s body out of the woods after a high angle rope team recovered her from the Horsepasture River immediately below the falls.
The woman’s name is not being released at this time.
These types of accidents are not uncommon in the Blue Ridge Mountains. According to the Asheville Citizen Times, the Lake Toxaway Fire Department alone has responded to three waterfall fatalities since the beginning of 2016.
Earlier this month in Virginia, a father died while attempting to save his son at Cascade Falls in the Jefferson National Forest.
Waterfalls are beautiful natural features treasured throughout the region, but—as evidenced by recent and continued fatalities—they must be treated with the utmost respect.
Next time you head for the hills in search of waterfall fun, keep these tips from Transylvania County Land of Waterfalls close at hand.
