Highlands, NC

United States

Highlands perches at over 4,000 feet in North Carolina's Blue Ridge Mountains, drawing summer visitors escaping the heat with temperatures running 10-15 degrees cooler than the valleys below. US 64 provides the main access through winding mountain roads from Franklin (31 miles west) or Cashiers to the east, while visitors from Atlanta typically take US 441 north through Georgia. The town's Main Street literally dead-ends at Bridal Veil Falls, where you can drive your car behind the 40-foot waterfall.