Nebraska's tallest waterfall at 63 feet, a groundwater-fed ribbon dropping to the Niobrara in a state park reached by footbridge from the national scenic river corridor.
Year round
Big water window
see the season section
Spring fed
What drives it
a spring-fed side stream of the Niobrara River
Live USGS
Data on this page
gauge 06461500
Nebraska Game and Parks
Managed by
their rules govern
Trail status, closures and safety rules belong to each falls' managing agency, named and linked on every page.
The season
What fills Smith Falls, and when
Smith Falls pours off the Niobrara valley wall on spring-fed water, steady through the seasons while the canoe river below swells and shrinks; the Sparks gauge on this page reads the float trip, not the falls. The Park Service's place page, which co-documents the state park, supplies the tallest-in-Nebraska superlative verbatim.
What the agency itself says
Smith Falls is an iconic waterfall in the State of Nebraska. It is the tallest waterfall in the state at 63 feet tall and has been a popular stop for floaters and visitors of the Niobrara River Valley for many years.
What a spring-fed side stream of the Niobrara River is doing today
Flow at the gauge now
Loading
USGS median for Oct 15
Not published
Gauge: USGS 06461500 Niobrara River near Sparks NE, on the Niobrara mainstem upstream of the park; it reads the canoe river, not the spring-fed falls. The gauge reads the river, not the brink of the falls, so treat it as the trend line rather than a turnstile.
Source: USGS Water Services (National Water Information System). Instantaneous values and daily statistics services. U.S. Geological Survey data are works of the United States Government and are in the public domain. Gauge verified 2026-08-27.
Spring-fed water advertises itself: the travertine terraces below Havasu Falls are built by minerals the spring water carries out of the aquifer, and the blue green color holds in every season. “Havasu falls Arizona” — Stolz Gary M, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service — Public domain
Getting there
Access, in the agency's words and ours
Accessible boardwalks reach the falls viewing platform from the state park, per the Park Service, and summer floaters pull out at a landing 300 yards away; Nebraska Game and Parks operates the park within the scenic river corridor.
Spring water off a valley wall (Burney Falls, California). Smith Falls runs Nebraska's version above the Niobrara's canoe traffic. “Burney Falls (6489840799)” by Prayitno / Thank you for (9 millions +) views from Los Angeles, USA, CC BY 2.0
Common questions
Smith Falls flow season FAQ
Smith Falls pours off the Niobrara valley wall on spring-fed water, steady through the seasons while the canoe river below swells and shrinks; the Sparks gauge on this page reads the float trip, not the falls. The Park Service's place page, which co-documents the state park, supplies the tallest-in-Nebraska superlative verbatim.
This page reads the USGS gauge on a spring-fed side stream of the Niobrara River (Niobrara River near Sparks NE, on the Niobrara mainstem upstream of the park; it reads the canoe river, not the spring-fed falls) live in your browser, and shows the latest flow next to the median USGS publishes for today's date, so you can see where today sits in the year. The gauge reads the river, not the brink, so treat it as the trend rather than a turnstile.
No; groundwater keeps it running through Sandhills summers. Winter wraps the ribbon in ice without stopping it.
Smith Falls State Park (Nebraska Game and Parks / Niobrara National Scenic River, NPS). Accessible boardwalks reach the falls viewing platform from the state park, per the Park Service, and summer floaters pull out at a landing 300 yards away; Nebraska Game and Parks operates the park within the scenic river corridor. Trail status, closures and safety rules are theirs, and their page is linked on this one; nothing here overrides what they publish.
Yosemite Falls in May, running on snowmelt that will be gone by late summer. The National Park Service tells visitors the falls can be dry by August, which is why every falls page here starts from its watershed. “Tourists below Yosemite Falls (39832011431)” by Mike McBey, CC BY 2.0
Places to stay