U.S. HIGHWAY 64 FROM ROSMAN TO FRANKLIN
Transylvania County has laid claim to the nickname Land of Waterfalls, so it might be stepping on a few toes to call this route passing also through Jackson and Macon counties by that name. No disrespect to Transylvania is intended, it’s just that this entire region of southwestern North Carolina is loaded with spectacular waterfalls. So, just how many waterfalls are there along this route? If you count all the falls within about fifteen miles of the U.S. Highway 64 corridor, you’re looking at hundreds!
To see most of the waterfalls requires you to get off U.S. 64 onto side roads or hiking trails. A good guide is North Carolina Waterfalls, listed in the Further Reading appendix. The book provides the most comprehensive coverage of the state’s waterfalls available in print. The best website about North Carolina waterfalls is www.ncwaterfalls.com.
Drive this route on a weekday and you might question its legitimacy as a backroad. As the only practical route from Brevard to Highlands, you’ll share the road with soccer moms, tractor-trailers, farm tractors, Floridians driving much too slowly, and locals driving much too fast. (You may wonder how the speedy locals can even keep brakes from wearing out on their vehicles, but soon enough you’ll realize that they just don’t use their brakes.) Besides being busy, this stretch of U.S. 64 seems determined to give up every acre of its natural beauty to retail stores and, particularly, housing developments.
Start out on U.S. 64 near Rosman. From the junction with NC 215, follow U.S. 64 west to Franklin. (46 miles)
During its heyday in the early 1900s, the Toxaway Inn attracted a virtual who’s who of the nation’s elite. R. Henry Scadin, R. H. Scadin Photographic Collection, D. H. Ramsey Library, Special Collections, University of North Carolina at Asheville
