Bearden Falls (4 falls)

12/10/2011 - took a few Traildames to do this hike and see this falls.  It's an easy hike almost the whole way, except just as you approach the falls there's a short, very steep section - maybe 8-10 feet high that I just could not get up.  Some of the group did make it though.  Luckily there's a very good view of the top of the falls at this point, where you can see it as it comes over the edge of the escarpment.  Fantastic sight!  My understanding is that this is the same escarpment that Amicalola Falls and Cochran Falls go over.

The hike goes up Nimblewill Creek and then up Bearden Creek and there are lots of small and medium sized falls before you get to the main falls.  Makes for a pleasant hike.

GMAPS does not show the name of the creek for Bearden Falls, but it flows into Nimblewill Creek.  Mr. Anthony's site says it's Bearden Creek.

GPS: 34.59643° -84.19567° (Nimblewill Creek)
GPS: 34.59874° -84.19598° (Nimblewill Creek)

\

GPS: 34.60706° -84.19712° (unnamed creek)

GPS: (didn't get) (unnamed creek)

Directions and Information: from Dahlonega, GA

• West on GA 52
• Right on Nimblewill Church Rd (there's an old, rundown, abandoned store here)
• Follow road to past Nimblewill Church and continue straight
• Road is now Nimblewill Gap Rd and just after the church there a sign FS 28-2
• 1.8 miles from the end of the tarmac, turn right onto short road into camping/parking spot (FS 28-2 turns a bit left and starts up the mountain, you don't want to go up!)
• Park here
• Follow road on foot, along Nimblewill Creek, across small side stream and past several very large wet potholes
• Cross Nimblewill Creek at end of this road
• Bear left - upstream on Nimblewill Creek
• Cross Bearden Creek
• Bear right and follow Bearden Creek upstream across several fords
• Trail gets very steep just before the base of the falls

Nimblewill Gap Rd (FS 28-2) (2 falls)

12/1/2011 - went up west of Dahlonega to scout the trail & parking for Bearden Falls.  Found that easily, so I decided to drive further up the road.  Got all the way to the gap, where the road out the other side looked pretty rough, so I turned around and drove out the way I came in.  Found a couple of small roadside falls - not worth driving just to see those, but if you have some other reason to drive to the gap you can look for them.

GMAPS does not show either of these branches, but they must flow into Nimblewill Creek

GPS: 34.58622° -84.20256°
GPS: 34.59912° -84.21143°

We had some rain and a cold front go through early in this week, and when I got up near the gap I found this!

 Directions and Information: from Dahlonega, GA

• West on GA 52
• Right on Nimblewill Church Rd (there's an old, rundown, abandoned store here)
• Follow road to past Nimblewill Church and continue straight
• Road is now Nimblewill Gap Rd and just after the church there a sign FS 28-2

Note: The day I was there, the road was in decent shape, a bit rough in a few places, but nothing impassable as far up as the gap.

Stonewall Creek Falls (4 falls)

9/12/2015 - haven't been able to get back to these falls because of my knee problems, and my reluctance to try to drive over a very rough spot in the road in my little station wagon.  But I've gotten a new (to me anyway) SUV so I thought I'd try it in that.  Well...they've solved the issue...you can't drive to the falls now, it's gated off at the bottom of the short drive to the parking area.  No reason you can't hike in from there, but I'm not sure how far it is...maybe 1/2 a mile?

11/24/2011 - I recently bought "Waterfall Hikes of North Georgia" by Jim Parham and he mentions some falls abover Stonewall Creek Falls, so today I went back to see them.  They're just visible from the trail along the creek, but don't photograph well from there because of the ubiquitous rhododendron.  It did look like it was possible to get down to both of them, but the trail was steep and I didn't feel like trying it when I was there alone.

GPMAPS does not show the falls on the side branch, but it flows into Stonewall Creek

9/5/2010 My sister and I did 4 falls this day, but the others are already documented. 

4/30/2011 - went above Lake Rabun Rd, which is above the town of Tallulah Falls, GA - to see if there were any waterfalls.  Panned completely, there weren't even any creeks or branches.  Since I was more or less in the area, I went back to Stonewall Creek Falls to get better pictures.  On the way in I heard a falls on a side branch.  It's not easy to see in the photo, but when you are there you can see that it goes quite a long way down the branch.  It's alongside the last hill you drive down before you get to Stonewall Creek Falls.  The flowers were growing right beside the road on the way in to the falls.

9/5/2010 - this falls is down a long, winding Forest Service road north of the town of Tallulah Falls, GA.  The road was eroded in several places, which required some careful driving, but we made it almost to the falls.  About 1/4 mile away there was a spot that was badly rutted...so I chose to park and walk the rest of the way.  And, of course, once we got down to the valley, there were quite a few campers down there...cars and all!  So we probably could have driven down, if I'd been careful about it.

GPS: 34°49'10"N 83°26'41"W (unnamed branch falls)
GPS: 34°49'14"N 83°27'0"W (Stonewall Creek Falls)

http://www.jjanthony.com/waterfalls/falls/stonewallfalls.html

Directions and Information: from Tallulah Falls, GA

• north on US 441 - get into left-hand lane
• on large, divided, 4 lane bridge - get into the left-hand turn lane ON the bridge
• left at end of bridge, then immediately right onto Old US 441
• left on FS 20 (not easy to see-is at some kind of utility building, electric company maybe-but there are signs on the left about bike trails)

Note: falls is at far end of camping area where FS road ends, however if the road is bad you may not be able to drive all the way in.  About .4 miles before the end there is a short side road to a parking area for the biking trails.  You can park here and hike in to the falls.

Cohutta Wilderness (8 falls)

11/23/2011 - I recently bought "Waterfall Hikes of North Georgia" by Jim Parham and I realized I've been driving right past a lot of waterfalls, especially in the Cohuttas!  So I went back to find a few of them.  Found some extra ones along Old CCC Camp Road this time.

Creek names shown below are all from GMAPS

10/21/2011 - Getting to this one a bit late, but better late than never!  I took a long day and drove all around and about the Forest Service roads in the Cohutta Wilderness.  Beautiful area, but not many waterfalls that are visible from the roads.  I did get a few small ones.  I understand there are others that can be hiked to, but I didn't do any hiking this day.

This first one is on Old CCC Camp Rd driving into the wilderness area from Eton, Ga.  A short way above this small falls is a long shoal with several smaller falls.  The 1st one was particularlay hard to photograh, but as usual with these creeks bordered by lots of rhododendrons and trees, it's easier to see when you are there.  The 2nd is close to the junction with Conasauga Rd & W. Cow Pens Rd

11/23/2011 - picked up more falls along CCC Camp Road.  Because I got some on one trip, some on another - I've gotten them mixed up.  Will have to go back one day and get them in order!  The last one, Holly Creek Falls, is down a steep hill - but it's doable and you get a much better view from the rocks below the falls.

GPS: 34°48'17"N 84°37'55"W (Holly Creek)
GPS: 34°48'5"N 84°36'58"W (Holly Creek)

This one is on W. Cow Pen Rd, just past the junction with Old CCC Camp Rd & Conasauga Rd.

GPS: 34°48'10"N 84°36'56"W (unnamed branch, flows into Holly Creek)

 

And this one is on Shakerag Rd.  If you are driving south from Gates Chapel Rd (downhill) the road goes quite close to this small falls, but the best view is past that point and right where the road crosses the creek - stop and look upstream.
GPS: 34°47'16"N 84°35'20"W (Stillhouse Branch)

Directions and Information: from Chatsworth, GA

There are several ways to get to and into the Cohutta Wilderness.  On this day I started in Eton, GA - north of Chatsworth - and drove up Old CCC Camp Road, then up W. Cow Pen Rd, down Wilderness Trail, and then on Shakerag Rd. to Conasauga Rd and out to Hwy 52.

Bull Sluice & Poke Creek falls (2 falls)

11/10/2011 - went to the Chattooga River to see Bull Sluice and the falls on the side creek Poke Creek.  I only got a picture of the lower falls on the side creek.  I just could not get up high enough to see the upper, sliding falls.  The lower falls is not as flat as it appears in the photo.

Bull Sluice (meaning the river, of course) was way down in water volume...but in a way that was nice, because it let me see the "bone" (rocks) that make up the sluice.  These would not be visible in higher water.
GPS: 34.81742° -83.30560° (Poke Creek)

Directions and Information: from Clayton, GA

• East on US 76 - to across the SC border
• Park in parking area on north side of the road
• Go down the steps to the walkway on the bridge and cross back into GA
• Trail begins at end of walkway
• At the fork in the trail, bear right - downhill to river
• Follow trail upstream to creek crossing at Poke Creek
• Bull Sluice is visible from here upstream beside huge boulder on left

The hike is pretty easy, but I found that the trail along the river had several old logjams that had to be climbed - something that I found difficult because of my poor balance.  They wouldn't be bad for someone more limber than me!

Becky Branch falls (7 falls)

11/3/2011 - went back up to Clayton to see if it was possible to do the falls in Warwoman Dell, Becky Branch Falls and the shortcut to Martins Creek Falls in one day.  Turned out to be quite doable, and I got some new falls going up Becky Branch!

7/2/2011 - went back to Warwoman Dell to see the rhododendrons, but they were not very abundant this year.  While I was there I bushwhacked to the bottom of the falls below Warwoman Road.

4/16/2011 - on my way to find the campground at Sarah's Creek, I passed right by Becky Branch, which flows down into Warwoman Dell.  There are falls visible from the road, and below the road another good sized falls...so I stopped and got pictures.  It's hard to see in the photo, but the falls upstream of Warwoman Rd go almost to the top of the photo.

I've hiked up this branch several times, and if I remember correctly, there are several other falls before you get to the bridge below Becky Branch Falls.  Will have to go back one day and get pictures!

The first 2 pictures are the same falls, the one just below the road.  The first is taken looking down from Warwoman Rd, and the second is taken from the bottom.
GPS 34°52'59"N 83°21'5"W

  

Directions and Information: from Clayton, GA

• east on Warwoman Rd
• upper falls are visible from road on curve above road to Warwoman Dell
• lower falls can be seen from road by walking downhill and crossing the road
• the best view of the falls going up Becky Branch is from the slightly longer trail on the east side of the Branch

Notes: there is a trail just uphill of Becky Branch where the Bartram Trail crosses Warwoman Road.  You can hike down this trail and then bushwhack over to the lower falls.

Ward Creek falls at Camp Wahsega

10/28/2011 - went up to the Dahlonega area to find the waterfall at Camp Wahsega 4H camp.  This is pretty easy to find, it's about a mile past Camp Frank D. Merrill Ranger Camp.  It's easy to get to too and very pretty.  There's a wooden raceway down from the falls, like a minature mill raceway, that brings some of the water from the falls to fall down on a rock right at the corner of a deck.

This falls is on Ward Creek and is sometimes called Wedding Falls, but more usually it's just called Wahsega Falls.
GPS: 34°37'2"N 84°5'52"W

These 2 photos show the falls and part of the raceway, and then a view from below the deck that shows most of the raceway, and where it comes out at a corner of the deck.

Directions and Information: from Dahlonega, GA

• north on US 19 bypass
• right on Camp Wahsega Rd
• at Camp Merrill - left on Hightower Church Rd (turns to gravel just ahead)
• about 1 mile on left is sign for Camp Wahsega
• Go to the main office to request permission to be at the camp

Note: Please contact Wahsega to set up a visit.  The website is http://www.wahsega4h.org.

Panther Creek Falls (6 falls)

10/22/2011 - my pictures from 3 weeks ago didn't turn out very well, so my sister and I went back and hiked the shortcut to the falls - again for me, the first time for her.  Got much better pictures this time.  I still didn't get all the way to the bottom of the falls, but I got a lot closer.  The trail is in pretty bad shape and there was a climb that was about mid-thigh to me that I just didn't feel like I could make.

The lower falls is MUCH more impressive "in person" than it is in my photo.  Give the scope and size of the entire falls complex, this is a truly spectacular falls!

10/1/2011 - getting around to this update a bit late!  I went back to the shortcut to Panther Creek Falls again to see if I could find where I went wrong the last time.  I went slowly and realized I had missed a hard left turn.  Followed the trail to another hard left, and that one brought me out on the main trail along Panther Creek, just above the falls.  It's a long, steep down hill, so I went slowly...but even so, I was a bit shakey by the time I got to the creek. 

The falls are even more spectacular than photos show.  It's actually a 4 stage waterfall with a cascade at the top, then a slot falls that is so narrow at one place you can easily step across the entire creek, then a 2 stage sliding falls.  WELL worth the trip!

My pictures didn't turn out, except for one of the cascade at the top.  Guess I'll have to go back again!

As I was hiking back out and got to the top of the ridge, I found that someone had put a huge arrow pointing to the left, made out of small logs and branches.  I totally missed it on my way in!  It's a bit hard to see in the photo, but it must be a good 8-10 feet long!  Don't know how in the world I missed it going in.
GPS: 34°40'35"N 83°23'15"W (upper)
GPS: 34°40'21"N 83°23'7"W (lower, no picture yet)

5/21/2011 - went back to Panther Creek to get better pictures and GPS points.  Still didn't make it to the Panther Creek Falls.  It's just too far for me to get there and back in one day.  Someday though!  I did get a picture of a sliding falls that I had missed before.  And I realized that there are maybe 6-7 places along the creek where it sounds like there might be a falls, or at least a very noisy shoals, but you just can't see the creek due to the rhododendron, azalea, and mountain laurel bushes along the bank.

I did get to the first big falls, which the GPS said is at 3.15 miles, and got a better picture of that, but the best place to see and photograph it is from the top of the rocky area a little further downstream.  And the flowers were just blooming everywhere! 

5/23/2010 I've been trying to get to the Panther Creek Falls for years.  For many years I couldn't get there because the trail went up and over a 15 foot cliff.  It wasn't so much that I couldn't get up as it was that I was afraid of coming down.  The trail at that point is very narrow and on the edge of a steep hill down to the creek.  I could just envision, only too clearly, coming down and not being able to balance and just continuing right down the hill!

Anyway, in early in May I was told the trail had been rerouted around this point, so I just had to try it...and it has been!  Very nice reroute.  Only problem is that it's still too far to the falls.  They are almost smack dab in the middle of an 8 mile hike and while I think I could get there, it would be tough to get back to the trailhead.

But since I did get a lot further than ever before, I found there is a very pretty, long cascade somewhere in the gray area between a true falls and steep shoals.  So that will have to do until I can figure out how to get to the REAL falls!
GPS: 34°41'51"N 83°24'46"W
GPS: 34°40'40"N 83°23'55"W

http://www.jjanthony.com/waterfalls/falls/panthercreek.html

Directions and Information: from Cornelia, GA

• north on GA 365/US 23/US 441
• US 441 joins at Baldwin/Cornelia
• north on US 441 towards Tallulah Falls
• left on Glen Hardman Rd
• right on Old US 441 (my map shows this as county rd 648)
• at turn into Panther Creek picnic area there is parking on the right that is free
• trail is across creek - headed downstream

Note: the falls are at about the 3.5 mile point, I've never actually been there.  Parts of the trail need care as you have to duck under large overhanging rocks.  The trail goes to a T-junction at the bottom of the hill about 1/4 (?) mile from the start and is not marked, but the trail you want goes to the left.  The shoals/falls in my picture is at 3.15 miiles.  At a point about 1 mile there is a bridge across the creek, and the trail continues on the other side of the creek from the starting side.

Directions and Information: from Cornelia, GA - shortcut

• north on GA 365/US 23/US 441
• US 441 joins at Baldwin/Cornelia
• north on US 441 towards Tallulah Falls
• right on John Wood Rd
• at 4 way stop, continue straight on Camp Yonah Rd
• at 2.4 miles, look for cleared area on right, park here
• trail is across road - at power pole GPS: 34°40'11"N 83°23'7"W

Note: the trail is fairly easy downhill.  Just after narrow ridge crossing, there is a sharp left turn at GPS: 34°40'28"N 83°23'7"W (this is where the big arrow was located the day I was there) and the trail begins a long, steep downhill, then another sharp left at GPS: 34°40'28"N 83°23'7"W and it meets the main trail at GPS: 34°40'33"N 83°23'14"W

Mill Creek Falls (2 falls)

10/15/2011 - drove up to the Cohutta Wilderness to see Barnes Creek Falls again, and to find the falls on Mill Creek.  Turned out to be a long drive, but these falls can be seen from a trail leading out of the camping area at Hickey Gap and there is a sign for the gap...but if you are driving downhill on the road the sign has it's back to you.  Apparently they don't think people drive downhill around there!

The campground was small, but seemed very nice.  The trail is short, but narrow and rough, lots of rocks and roots.  There were 2 falls, and between them a sizable extended shoal with lots of small falls.  The trail brings you out at the rocks at the top of the 2nd falls and you can scramble down the hill further to get to the bottom of the falls.

At the bottom, the creek makes a hard right turn and some other hikers said there is another falls "quite a ways" down stream - which must be the one Mr. Anthony refers to as being a further 1/2 mile hike.  They said the trail to the bottom was steep and very slippery due to the rain, so I didn't attempt the hike this time.  Maybe later, when it's dryer.
GPS: 34°53'34"N 84°40'18"W
GPS: 34°53'33"N 84°40'18"W

http://www.jjanthony.com/waterfalls/falls/millcreekfalls.html

Directions and Information: from Chatsworth, GA

•  north on US 441 to Crandall, GA
• right on Grassy Street
• right on Crandall Ellijay Rd
• left on Mill Creek Rd
• at Hickey Gap, right into campground
• trail is past large rocks in campsite downstream 

Note: there is a toilet building in this campground

Davis Creek falls (Gilmer County)

10/15/2011 - went back to Barnes Creek Falls to get the GPS points. 

6/13/2010 There 2 falls are fairly close together, near Ft Mountain State Park

Davis Creek Falls-Gilmer County is a small waterfall just beyond a lake, and is on private property.  It can be viewed, distantly, from the nearest road - but I don't yet have a good picture of it.  I did try later to get one - after I got a camera with a zoom lens, but at that time the waterfall was dry.  Will have to try again.

http://www.jjanthony.com/waterfalls/falls/davis-creek-falls.html

Directions and Information: from Ellijay, Ga

• west on GA 52
• left on Pleasant Hill Rd
• watch for lake on the right
• falls is distantly visible after you pass the lake, on the right

Note: Mr Anthony says 1 mile down Pleasant Hill Rd, but I found it's a bit further than that.  The last time I was there, the falls were dry and difficult to see.  The falls are on private property and I saw no way to get closer to them.  When you pass the lake dam, stop and look along and past the dam to the hill beyond.

Roxann Falls

10/14/2011 - went back to get the GPS coordinates and found that this trail is now POSTED - No Trespassing

2/20/2011 - went back to this falls to get some better pictures.  There has been some heavy machinery go down the road/trail to the falls.  Moved a big downed tree out of the way and filled in some badly eroded spots.

12/1/2010 I finally found this falls!   This one has taken me months to find.  I found several sites with photos and videos but none of them had any actual directions.  I found a clue here - it's in an upscale mountain subdivision called Apple Pie Ridge (http://www.landspecialties.com/applepie/); and another one there - that the subdivision has a small parking area for it; another clue elsewhere - that it was below the dam at the lake...and after several trips to find it I put the clues together with what I saw on the ground and found it!

One of the roads in Apple Pie Ridge ends at a county water treatment plant and THAT is where the trail to the falls starts.  It's an old road that winds down into the valley and ends at a farm road that goes to private property to the right, and to the falls to the left. 

 

The trail to this falls is now POSTED - No Trespassing

Warwoman Dell falls

2/11/2011 - went back up to the Clayton, GA area to redo the falls on Sawmill Creek, so while I was in the area I went back to Warwoman Dell to get the falls there again.

GPMAPS does not show this branch, but it flows into Becky Branch

7/2/2010 - Did 3 falls in the Clayton, GA are

Warwoman Dell is an old CCC camp location, through which runs the Bartram Trail.  There is also a nature trail at the head of the Dell, and as deep in as you can go is a small, pretty unnamed falls.
GPS: 34°52'52"N 83°21'21"W

 

http://www.jjanthony.com/waterfalls/falls/warwomandell.html

 

Directions and Information: from Clayton, GA

• east on Rickman St
• at 5 way junction, bear right onto Warwoman Rd
• (if you miss Rickman St, Warwoman Rd is the next road to the right)
• right into Warwoman Dell at the sign

Note: be careful of the turn into Warwoman Dell, it's a steepish downhill right at the turn and you can hit something under your car if you go too fast.  Drive all the way to the end of the road and park.  The Nature trail starts here.

Laural Falls (6 falls)

7/24/2011 - my sister and I went to Kingwood to see these falls.  She hadn't seen them before.  I got some pictures of the other falls on the creek, but because the leaves are so lush this time of the year they're hard to see.  I'll have to go back in the fall and see if I can get better photos.

1/2/2011 Went back to Kingwood Golf Course to get better pictures of Laural Falls.  It was such a nice day, I went slowly and was able to pay more attention to the creek.  There are at least 3 other waterfalls, and possible 2 more as well.  As you walk up the logging road you can distinctly hear one falls after another get louder and then softer as the next one begins to get louder.  I was able to get pictures of a small, natural falls below an old dam and of a big waterfall that is before Laural Falls. 

Between that big waterfall and Laural Falls there is at least one other that can be seen, but not very clearly and from the sound there may be another between that one and the big falls.  Below the big falls there is one upstream of the still water behind the old dam.  But I just couldn't get good pictures of the two that I was able to see - but I'm going to count them anyway!

It's a real shame someone doesn't make a creekside trail as it would be a nice hike up the creek from one falls to another!

GPMAPS doesn't show a name for either of these creeks, but the one with Laral Falls flows into another unnamed creek that flows into Chechero Creek

11/7/2010 Laural Falls is on the grounds of Kingwood Golf Course in Clayton, GA.  While I was there some kind people told me about a falls that can be seen from, of all places, the trash compactor site just up hwy 76 from the golf course!

This is up an old logging road behind the golf course.   Actually, not too far up this logging road there is another falls visible down the hill...but I couldn't get a good angle for a photo, and it was a bit too steep for me to try to get close.  Have to try this one again, and anyway my photos on this day did not turn out very well...so I need to redo them all.
GPS: 34°51'37"N 83°21'51"W

 

GPS: 34°51'41"N 83°21'52"W

GPS: 34°51'43"N 83°21'50"W



 

GPS: 34°51'45"N 83°21'48"W

GPS: 34°51'46"N 83°21'43"W

 

GPS: 34°51'48"N 83°21'41"W (on unnamed side creek)

http://www.jjanthony.com/waterfalls/falls/Lauralfalls.html 

 

Directions and Information: from Clayton, GA 

• go east on US 76
• watch on the left for Kingwood Golf Course
• drive up to the guest lodge and let them know you are there

Note: the desk attendant can give you a map to the falls.  You have to walk up a paved road and where it splits into a V you take the upper/left hand road.  The paving ends at the last house and becomes an unpaved logging road.  Immediately past the last house, look down into the valley and you will see an old dam with a small, natural falls below it.  A better view of this falls is down the right-hand paved road at the bottom of the hill.

Continue up the old road and through a gate.  Just past this gate the road curves away from the creek and there is a wooded, but somewhat open area.  When I was there, there were several long green pipes laying at the top of this area and a faint trail/old road ran beside them.  If you follow this down until it ends, then bushwhack down to the creek you come out at the top of the still water behind the dam.  Upstream of this is another falls, but I couldn't get a good angle for a photo

 Part way up this road there is a fork - take the right-hand road, and that is the one that goes to the falls.  There is a sign here pointing to the falls and if you look down into the valley you will see a big, white-water falls - but not very clearly.  This is not Laural Falls!  Upstream of this falls you will hear maybe another one, and then above that again, there is another one that is smaller and even harder to see, but you can clearly hear it and if you look carefully you'll see it.

Continue until you cross the wooden bridge at the confluence of the creek and a small branch.  Laural Falls is to the left, upstream on the creek.