How the Plungeworthy score works
Each feature on the site carries a single 0–10 score so you can compare spots at a glance. It's built from three factors, weighted and blended. It rewards places that are genuinely worth the drive — not just the tallest or most famous.
Scale
For waterfalls, scale is mostly height and volume — a 200-foot drop scores higher than a 6-foot riffle. For hot springs, it reflects the size and setup of the soak.
Scale is the loudest single factor, but it's capped, so a giant roadside cascade won't automatically beat a smaller spot with better character.
Documentation
How well a spot is mapped and described in the public record. Features with confirmed coordinates, named streams, and multiple references score higher than a single unverified dot.
This keeps thinly-documented or questionable entries from ranking above places you can actually count on.
Character
The hard-to-quantify part: type, setting, and whether the spot rewards the effort of getting there. A tiered waterfall in a canyon reads higher than a plain single drop of the same height.
What the score is not
It isn't a crowd rating or a review average — that's what the community ratings and condition reports are for. And it doesn't factor access difficulty, since a hard hike is a plus for some visitors and a dealbreaker for others. Check the spot's details and current conditions before you go.