Cullasaja Gorge: Highlands toward Franklin
US 64 from Highlands toward Franklin, dropping through the Cullasaja River Gorge past multiple waterfalls in the first several miles. Part of the Mountain Waters Scenic Byway, with real, recent closure history from storm damage.
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This road has real, recent closure history from storm damage: an 80-ft embankment washout closed it for over two weeks in January 2024 ($275,000 in repairs), and a failing basket wall closed a section in 2022. Check current conditions before a trip. Check current access · Reviewed 2026-09-22
Planning the drive
The gorge itself is concentrated in the first several miles out of Highlands, where US 64 drops alongside the Cullasaja River past multiple named waterfalls with 61 counted bends and 11 switchbacks over the mapped 13.6-mile stretch — a density of 4.5 bends per mile. The character changes as it opens up toward Franklin, so the tightest, most technical driving is front-loaded near the Highlands end rather than spread evenly.
This road has real, recent closure history, not just generic mountain-weather caution: an 80-ft embankment washout closed it for over two weeks in January 2024 after storm runoff overwhelmed the drainage system ($275,000 in repairs), and a failing basket wall closed a different section in 2022. Check current conditions before a trip. WLOS: US 64 in Cullasaja Gorge closed for embankment repair
Roads to connect
Driving notes updated .
Road shape
- Length
- 13.6 mi
- Bends
- 61
- Switchbacks
- 11
- Bends per mile
- 4.5
- Turning per mile
- 507°
- Curviest rank
- 61of 152
Measured from the OpenStreetMap centreline at a 20 m sampling step — road shape only, not a safety or speed judgement. How bends are counted.
Elevation
- Total climb
- 2,130ft
- Climb per mile
- 157ft
- Highest point
- 3,837ft
- Steepest grade
- 7.6%
Sampled every 100 m from USGS 10 m elevation data, a public-domain federal dataset. Total climb counts vertical change in both directions, so it does not depend on which way you drive. How elevation is measured.
Speed limits
Varies
Unverified
Check posted signs along the road.
No reliable posted limit was found for this selected section. Follow current signs.
Posted signs always govern. How speed evidence is handled.
Sources
Difficulty 2/3 (Winding) is our editorial rating of width, bends and sightlines; “Technical” describes character, not a target speed. Full method. Identified from:
- Wikipedia: Mountain Waters Scenic Byway
- Wikipedia: Cullasaja River
- OpenStreetMap road data (9 ways in this trace)
Reviewed 2026-09-16. The trace shows selected road sections, not a navigation route.
Roads nearby
Distances are approximate straight lines between road centers, not driving distances or direct connections.