What this is all about

I like to hike, and I belong to a womens hiking group called "TrailDames" - one of our hikes took us to a waterfall just over the border in South Carolina. This got me interested in finding waterfalls nearby and earlier this year I found a website with directions and photos of waterfalls in North Georgia at (see links for TrailDames & North Georgia Waterfalls below)

I now also belong to another womens hiking group called Off the Grid. Both OTG and Traildames are on Meetup.

Mr. Anthony's site has lovely photos of well over 100 waterfalls in North Georgia and I got interested in seeing them. As the weather got hotter through the summer I concentrated on shorter hikes to falls, and falls that were visible from the road. Then, as it started to get cooler again, I started doing longer hikes. It turned out to be far more fun than I expected it to be, and to my surprise - when I added them up - I had been to over 100 myself!

So I decided to make a record of them and of what it's like to visit them, in case anyone else is interested in seeing them too. I will be adding photos and directions, trail conditions, etc. in the future. As I "redo" falls I will update the page that already exists for them, instead of creating a new page every time. Keeping with the format of this blog site, I will put new information at the top of each existing page.

I won't be putting road mileages on the directions, I strongly urge you to compare my directions to a good map so you can see the distances for yourself. I'm not very good at guessing distances, so if I can find a trail length I will use that. If I'm guessing, I'll put a question mark so you'll know!

My apologies for the "watermarks" on the photos, but I have had...and know other people who have had...photos stolen off the net. The watermarks are to ensure that they can't be reused without being identified as mine.

I got a good GPS unit and I'll slowly be putting GPS coordinates for the falls, when I can. If I can get close to the falls the GPS will be for the falls. Otherwise, it will be for where you can see them most easily.

Nov 2012: I got a new PC and now that I can actually get things done (!) I'm going to rearrange the way the falls are listed. I'm going to list them separately, instead of grouping them by the day I saw them. The only ones I'll group are the ones that are on the same creek, or very close - like on the same road.

I've completed rearranging the posts. Hopefully this will help make the falls easier to find. I also found my count was WAY off, so I've updated the total too.

Jan 2013 - I just got a video camera, so I'll be adding short videos of the falls as I am able to get back to them. They might be a bit shakey at first, but hopefully I'll get better as I get used to using it!

Jan 2014 - I almost forgot about posting this! I had been in contact with Sharon Collins, the host of GPB's "Georgia Outdoors"...offering to take her around my 18 Waterfalls tour. She was not able to make it, but I did take her cameraman Shane Keating on the tour. I was hoping they'd do a show about the tour, but that didn't happen. However, some of the shots did show up in the episode "Mountain Magic"...so I've added a link to that episode.

Aug 2015 - I've created a Google map of the waterfalls I either have been to, or know about as publicly accessable, check it out at: https://goo.gl/maps/79Lyb

Got some additional news. The episode of Georgia Outdoors mentioned above, that has some of the shots taken by the cameraman on my 18 Wateralls tour...won a 2015 Southeastern Emmy for "Magazine Program" http://www.gpb.org/emmys

Total Falls

Total waterfalls as of 6/7/2015: 504
Total videos as of 6/7/2015: 180

Tuesday, May 21, 2013

Dicks Creek falls-Lumpkin (11 falls)

5/20/2013 - had the day off, so I took advantage of all the rain we've had lately to get some more videos.  


4/8/2011 - went back up to Dicks Creek Rd to get new pictures and get them in order this time.  Found that I actually posted a couple of pictures here that aren't on this creek - so I've removed them.  I did find some new ones too, driving with my windows open pays off again!


Mileages are from the beginning of Dicks Creek Rd.

The first falls is on a side branch on the left and might be dry if there hasn't been any recent rain.  Falls 2 is on the right, on Dicks Creek.  It's on private propery and there is a rough rail fence right by the road.  The road here is narrow and there's really nowhere to park, but if you pull over as far as you can there is room for other cars to get by.
GPS: 34°40'4"N 83°55'13"W .8 mi
GPS: 34°40'36"N 83°56'6"W 1.1 mi


This one is on private property and it's hard to get a good angle for it, plus, the sun was very bright on it...so it didn't turn out very well.  I guess I'll have to go back an try again later in the day!



The 3rd falls is just barely visible from the road, but at the GPS point there is a power pole and a steep, short trail that goes down to the base of the falls.  The next falls is very close and the best view is right at the end of the steel barrier on the creek side.
GPS: 34°40'42"N 83°56'7"W 2.5 mi
GPS: 34°40'42"N 83°56'7"W  2.5 mi

After all the rain we've had, I was not able to get down beside this falls for the vido.  The "trail" down the side of the road has been worn almost smooth by all the rain, plus I'm nursing a sore leg, so I just didn't feel like I could negotiate it with the trekking poles I would need for balance, plus carrying the cameras and tripod.  So I got the best angle I would from the road.





The 5th falls is distantly visible upstream from the 4th falls, but if you drive up beside it you will find it is actually opposite a nice parking area across the road and up the hill.  There is a rough path to get down to the falls.  For falls 6 you can walk right out on the rocks just below the falls.  At this point the creek flows through a narrow slot at the base of the falls.
GPS: 34°40'45"N 83°56'10"W 2.6 mi
GPS: 34°40'46"N 83°56'12"W 2.7 mi

The video for this falls was taken from behind the guard rail and is zoomed in pretty close




At 4.2 mi there is a very pretty "braided" shoal, and from here to the next falls there are quite a few small, pretty shoals and very small falls.

Mr Anthony has the next 2 falls on his site as "Falls on Blood Mountain Creek" but it looks like all I really got was the lowest falls - maybe.  My GPS coordinates pretty much match his, but the pictures I got don't really look much like any of his.  At any rate, this falls is just visible from the road, just past a camp spot and before the concrete crossing across Blood Mtn Creek.  It's easiest to cross the creek, park on the left, then walk back across the creek and up through the camp to the falls.  I didn't see any way to get above falls 7b, but maybe it's possible if you're a stronger hiker/climber than I am.  Certainly Mr Anthony says it can be done.

He also says there's another falls further upstream, and gives directions to find that one also, but I didn't try that today.
GPS: 34°41'52"N 83°57'7"W 4.5 mi



The next 2 falls are a short way upstream on Dicks Creek from the creek crossing with Blood Mtn Creek.
GPS: 34°41'52"N 83°57'12"W 4.5 mi

Looks like I missed these 2!  I'll have to go back and get videos of them when I get the chance.


The next falls is, as far as I know, the last one.  Not too far above this one the road begins a steep ascent of the mountain and I didn't have time to do the whole thing today, but I've done it before and my memory is that it's WAY above the valley and no creeks.  Maybe sometime I'll go back and do the whole thing just to check though.
GPS: 34°41'56"N 83°57'19"W 4.7 mi


12/27/2010 - I actually saw these last year, not in 2010, but they still count.  So I don't have a date for them.  There are many falls and steep shoals along this creek, so I'm not sure I have them in the right order.  This is another I will need to go back and redo once the Forest Service road is opened in the spring.

Directions and Information: from Cleveland, GA
  • north on US129/GA 11
  • left on US 19/GA 9
  • right on Dicks Creek Road (changes to FS 34 at 2.1 mi)
Note: road will change from paved to gravel at mile 2.1 and is marked FS 34.  At 3.4 mi there is a creek ford that might not be passable if the water is high.  This is a popular place in the summer and there is parking up the hill to the right, at falls 5 and at the bridge past the parking up the hill.  The uphill parking has what appears to be an outhouse type toilet (I've never gone up there to park).  When the Forest Service road is closed, there will be a gate across the road after the bridge, but when the road is open there are more falls and cascades beyond the gate.

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