Clayton Webster isn’t telling. Just like someone who discovered a fresh, plentiful fishing hole, Webster won’t spill the beans on where the state’s most beautiful and mesmerizing waterfalls are located. You’ll just have to go out on the trails and find them yourself.
Webster, who is a trail boss for the Over the Hill Hiking Group, says the need for secrecy is even more important now that “we have all these nontraditional hikers since the pandemic. They don’t carry backpacks and they throw water bottles and dirty diapers on the trail. We don’t want a thundering herd to find these waterfalls.”
Whether you are a veteran hiker or one of the new “thundering herd,” hiking to a cascading, thunderous falls offers a fun outdoorsy afternoon with the reward being that all-important selfie.
“Waterfalls are located in just the most beautiful settings,” says Steven Bekkerus, public affairs officer for the U.S. Forest Service at Chattahoochee-Oconee National Forests. “They have diverse ecosystems around them, not just trees but animals, plants, geology, topography. Waterfalls are moving energy and dramatic.”
Mark Oleg Ozboyd, founder of the Georgia Waterfall Database, lists more than 700 waterfalls, although he says only about 400 are worth seeing. “Waterfalls are a force of nature you don’t see anywhere else,” he says. “Going to a waterfall helps to improve your mind and takes away all your everyday worries.”
Credit: Handout
Credit: Handout
Taking Pictures
Whether you are a professional photographer, an amateur enthusiast or a cellphone shutterbug, it’s hard to resist taking a waterfall photo. Award-winning lifestyle, travel and tourism photographer Kevin Garrett says with a little planning and creativity, anyone can get a stunning photo. He recommends putting the shutter speed on as slow as possible and to set the camera on a tripod or on a rock. Early morning and dusk are the optimal times for a dramatic shot.
“You’ve taken all this time to travel — to hike deep into the woods — to get to the waterfall, you don’t want to just take one shot from one angle. Take it from above, below, get as close to the waterfall as you safely can and try not to get your camera wet,” he says. “Get vertical shots, horizontal. A zoom lens is not an excuse to be lazy. Get as physically close as possible.”
Garrett, who lives in Marietta, suggests attaching a phone clamp to a tree or wrap it around a rock, so that you don’t get the ubiquitous arm-extended selfie. “With some iPhones you can even set it for remote release, which gives you time to get into the frame,” he says.
If you’re hiking with friends, approach it like a professional photo shoot. “Bring colorful hats or shirts and have them look at the waterfall instead of their arms around each other starring at the camera. Pose them the way you would a rock band with one person — like the lead singer — closer to the camera and the drummer and bass behind on different rocks to stagger the depth. Arrange people artfully. It adds interest to your picture.”
Safety first
Waterfalls are beautiful but they also can be treacherous, warns Bekkerus. “Waterfall safety is a big concern. We had a recent fatality in Dicks Creek Falls (located in the Chattahoochee National Forest). On the outside they look harmless but pay attention to the warning signs and exercise caution.”
Kim Hatch, public affairs officer for the Georgia Department of Natural Resources, agrees. “Never step foot in a waterfall. Period. Rocks may be more slippery than you think. Maybe not the first one, but the next one may be.”
Although some of the federal parks allow swimming in the basins, the state parks do not allow it. “You cannot swim in a state park’s waterfall pools but if someone tries it elsewhere, it is very dangerous. High falls, in particular, have tricky rocks and holes and rocks that you don’t see. It’s so easy to slip or get your foot caught. Stay on the trails,” she says. In national parks, swimming is permissible unless posted otherwise. “And always at your own risk,” Bekkerus adds.
Here are 10 of the most picturesque waterfalls in the state:
Lula Lake Waterfall is the only waterfall on this list not on public lands. In his will, Robert Davenport Sr. arranged for a land trust to manage more than 8,000 acres on Lookout Mountain near Cloudland Canyon State Park. Lula Lake is only open to the public on the first and last weekends of every month, and reservations are a must. There is a $15 conservation use fee. There are two falls on the property, one is a 20-foot waterfall that forms a pool at the bottom and then the majestic 120-foot free falling, single-tiered waterfall. “It’s the coolest and greatest waterfall in Georgia,” says Webster.
Lula Lake Land Trust, 5000 Lula Lake Road, Lookout Mountain. 780-820-0520, www.lulalake.org.
Credit: Jason Getz
Credit: Jason Getz
Amicalola Falls State Park has perhaps the state’s best known waterfall and, at 729-feet, the third highest cascading waterfall east of the Mississippi. “What’s nice about this is that there are three separate ways to view the waterfall,” says Hatch. “It’s a good hike and you can get extremely close to the falls, so close that it almost sprays you.” Amicalola Falls State Park, 418 Amicalola Falls Road, Dawsonville. 706-344-1500. www.amicalolafallslodge.com.
Credit: AtlantaTrails.com
Credit: AtlantaTrails.com
Helton Creek Falls is a series of two big waterfalls located within the Chattahoochee National Forest and just inside Vogel State Park in Union County. The lower falls are about 40 feet long and the upper falls cascade about 50 feet into a pool. The forest service is improving the trail and Bekkerus admits the falls are “pretty spectacular.” fs.usda.gov/conf.
Credit: HANDOUT
Credit: HANDOUT
To get to Anna Ruby Falls in White County, you have to drive through Unicoi State Park even though the falls are part of the Chattahoochee National Forest. The hike is relatively easy — about a half-mile paved trail — and there is a small charge. The twin falls plunge more than 150 feet, and the easiest trail is about a mile roundtrip. The falls are near Helen, which also boasts three other popular waterfalls — Dukes Creek Falls (with a drop of almost 200 feet), Raven Cliff Falls (about 40 feet tall) and DeSoto Falls (about 80 feet tall). Anna Ruby Falls Road, Helen. 706-878-1448. fs.usda.gov/conf.
Tarbor Falls is one of Ozboyd’s favorites with a 50-foot sheer drop. Located in the Lake Russell Wildlife Management area in the southeastern part of the Chattahoochee National Forest near Cornelia, the waterfall is not well known and is the first of three waterfalls from an unnamed tributary of the Middle Fork Broad River. 770-535-5700, georgiawildlife.com/lake-russell-wma.
Credit: Handout
Credit: Handout
Cherokee Falls is located in Cloudland Canyon State Park in Dade County, which is one of the largest and most scenic parks in the state, and boasts two waterfalls — Cherokee and Hemlock falls. The first waterfall, Cherokee Falls, stands over 60 feet tall, and is less than half a mile on the Waterfall Trail. It takes a bit more hiking to reach Hemlock Falls, but it’s worth it to see water cascading more than 90 feet down a towering rock wall into the canyon floor. There is an observation deck as well. Cloudland Canyon State Park, 122 Cloudland Canyon Park Road, Rising Fawn. 706-657-4050, www.gastateparks.org/CloudlandCanyon.
Credit: AtlantaTrails.com
Credit: AtlantaTrails.com
Minnehaha Falls is at the end of a rhododendron-packed trail in the Chattahoochee-Oconee National Forest in Rabun County. The 60-foot-high falls spreads out in various increments to form a wide pool at its base. fs.usda.gov/conf.
Horsetrough Falls is a 70-foot-tall cascading waterfall near the headwaters of the Chattahoochee River in the Chattahoochee National Forest in Union County. “It’s one of the best waterfalls and not as many people go there. It’s in the same area as Anna Ruby Falls, but much less crowded,” says Webster. fs.usda.gov/conf.
Credit: Handout
Credit: Handout
Cascade Falls is one of the few major waterfalls not in north Georgia. Instead, this tumbling, cascading waterfall is located in F.D. Roosevelt State Park near Columbus. Also in the park are Csonka Falls, Big Rock Falls and Slippery Rock Falls. F.D. Roosevelt State Park, 2970 Ga. 190, Pine Mountain. 706-663-4858, gastateparks.org/FDRoosevelt.
Credit: Handout
Credit: Handout
High Falls State Park, northwest of Macon, boasts the tallest cascading waterfall south of Atlanta. The Towaliga River’s waterfall is enormous, multi-tiered and cascades more than 135 feet to the base. High Falls State Park, 76 High Falls Park Drive, Jackson. 478-993-3053, gastateparks.org/HighFalls.
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