The Lower Falls are on the Water of Nevis about seven kilometres up the Glen Nevis road from Fort William, where the river drops over a series of ledges into deep pools below an old stone bridge.
They are visible from the road, there is parking at the bridge, and getting to them requires no walk at all — which makes them the most accessible piece of river scenery in the area and a good stop for anyone who is not going to walk to Steall.
Not high — a series of steps and chutes rather than a single drop — but powerful, and after rain genuinely impressive: the whole width of the river funnelling through a rock channel into a pool.
The bridge gives the standard view, looking upstream into the fall. There are paths down to the water on both banks.
Below the falls the river opens into a run of deep green pools among rock slabs, and this is what the place is actually used for.
Lower Falls is one of the best-known wild swimming spots in the west Highlands, and on a hot day it is busy with people jumping from the rocks.
Some straightforward cautions, because this is a mountain river rather than a lido:
The water is very cold, all year. Cold water shock is real and is the main cause of trouble at spots like this. Get in slowly.
The current after rain is dangerous. The Water of Nevis rises fast and drops fast, and what is a placid pool one day is a torrent the next. If the river is high or brown, do not get in.
Jumping is popular and is how people get hurt. Depths change with the gravel, and there are submerged rocks.
There is no supervision of any kind, and mobile signal in the glen is patchy.
Used sensibly on a settled summer day, it is superb.
Lower Falls sits in the middle of one of the finest glens in Scotland. Glen Nevis runs from Fort William south-east between Ben Nevis on one side and the Mamores on the other, with the road ending after eleven kilometres at the car park for the Nevis Gorge and Steall Waterfall.
Along the way: the Glen Nevis Visitor Centre and the start of the Ben Nevis Mountain Track; a campsite; the Braveheart car park, named for the film shot in the glen; Polldubh Crags, a well-known climbing area rising straight from the road opposite the falls; and the road itself, which is single-track with passing places for the upper section.
Free, open at all times.
Parking: a small parking area at the bridge, which fills on hot days. Do not block the passing places.
Facilities: none. The visitor centre lower down the glen has toilets and a café.
Access: the falls can be seen from the bridge and the roadside with no walk; the riverbank paths down to the pools are short but steep and rocky.
Time: fifteen minutes to look; an afternoon if you are swimming.
Midges: in still weather from June to September this is prime midge country. Take repellent.
No — the falls are at the roadside by the bridge, with parking alongside.
Yes, and people do. The water is very cold, the current after rain is dangerous, and there is no supervision. Judge the river before getting in.
Steall is 120 metres high and needs an hour’s rough walk each way. Lower Falls is a roadside cascade with swimming pools.
A small area at the bridge, which fills on hot summer days.
About seven kilometres from Fort William, roughly halfway to the road end.