My North Georgia (mostly) Waterfalls Project

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

Saturday, March 16, 2013

Sylvan Falls

3/15/2013 - while my sister and I were in the Rabun Gap area to get videos of Darnell Falls and the falls above it, we took advantage of being so close and also got a video of Sylvan Falls.

5/14/2011 - went back to get new pictures and GPS points. Had a good look at the dark streak at the break in the falls and it's some kind of iron vessel. Something to do with the old mill, I guess.

According to GMAPS this falls is on Pitt Branch

9/5/2010 - falls is on the grounds of Sylvan Falls Mill. Mr. Anthony lists this falls as Sylvan Mill Falls, but the sign for the B&B says Sylvan Falls Mill.

GPS: 34°55'39"N 83°25'13"W

The mill had the wheel running the same day I got the above video...first time I've seen it running, so I took a video of that too!

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

Directions and Information: from Mountain City, Ga

north on US 441/US 23

left on Wolf Fork Rd

left on Taylor Chapel Rd

falls will be visible on the right

Note: the road is paved, but is very narrow. There is no place to park, you just have to pull over as far as you can and try not to block traffic.

Darnell Falls (5 falls)

8/27/2016 - another member of Off the Grid and I went to do the Cullasaja River gorge tour and took in this falls on the way. She took a picture of an engraved rock at Darnell Falls that I don't remember seeing before. At least, I remember the rock, but I don't recall seeing the engraving!

3/14/2013 - got my sister to take me back to get Darnell Falls and the falls above it. She's got an SUV and I hoped we'd get higher than I did before, but the road got steeper and turned away from the creek...so we turned around and went back. I did get some videos...but one of the falls just could not be photographed or taped. If you stand and look at it, you can duck and dodge and weave and see that it's pretty sizable, but with all the rhododendron in the way it just looks like white spots in the green

5/14/2011 - went back up above Clayton to redo some falls and try to find new ones too. Did Darnell Falls, and then drove up above the falls and got 4 new ones! The ones labeled 3,4,5 are all at the same spot. The GPS point is actually for the upper falls.

I didn't go as far up the FS road as I could have, it got rougher and rain started and I didn't feel like dealing with a steep, rough road in the rain.

According to GMAPS these are all on Darnell Creek

3/15/2013 - took advantage of the beautiful weather, and all the rain we've had lately, to take a day off and go back to Darnell Falls to get videos. Talked my sister into driving me up in her SUV, because the last time Ihad been there I had trouble getting up the Forest Service Road above the falls. The road is pretty scary, steep and bumpy, but we did get further in than I could in my car.

10/24/2010 Did multiple falls on one day in NE GA

Darnell Falls is on a short side road off a Forest Service road near Rabun Gap. Mr. Anthony says it's on private property, but another site I found says it's on Forest Service land and that's how it appears. At least, there were no private property signs that I could see. I didn't drive down the short road to the falls, though from the tracks I saw it's probably possible. To get the best view of the falls, you need to climb up a huge rock that is closest to the falls.

GPS: 34°57'32"N 83°21'22"W

This falls is just above Darnell Falls. When you are down at the bottom of Darnell Falls you can just see a small piece of this one at the top.
GPS: 34°57'34"N 83°21'22"W (upper)

There is a falls between #2 and #4, but it was impossible to get a good photo or video of it. You can move around, duck down, and see it's pretty good size, it just was not in a good place to photograph it.

This is the 4th falls on Darnell Creek. There's a short road to a camping spot and the best place to see this falls is a short way up the main Forest Service road from the junction with the camp spot road.

This is the 5th falls on Darnell Creek. Somehow I missed getting a still photo of it, so I'll have to use the one from a couple of years ago!

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

Directions and Information: from Rabun Gap, GA

go east on Kelly's Creek Rd
turn right on Darnell Creek Rd
take left fork onto gravel road
park where side road forks to the right
walk down road to falls
return to FS road and continue upstream for other falls

Friday, March 15, 2013

Cupid Falls

3/9/2013 - went up into the Blue Ridge area to check out a campground. While I was so close I went on to Young Harris to get a video of Cupid Falls

12/24/2011 - did some driving around in the area, so I went back to Cupid Falls to get more picture.

According to GMAPS this falls is on Com Creek

12/18/2010 - I found Mr. Anthony's directions a bit confusing, but eventually found the falls. From Main Street in Young Harris, at the tennis courts - turn onto Thomastown road and drive past Young Harris College to the creekside park on the left. The falls can be accessed from this park. I made the mistake of turning INTO Young Harris College, so don't do that!

GPS: 34.93496° -83.84081°

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

Directions and Information: from Young Harris, GA - US 76

east on Maple St-at tennis courts
bear left on Cupid Falls Rd-runs beside Young Harris College
falls is in park on left

Note: Mr Anthony says to turn onto Thomastown Rd from US 76, but my map program shows the roads as I've listed, and shows that Cupid Falls Rd changes names to Thomastown Rd just about where the park is located.

Thursday, March 14, 2013

Black Rock Rd falls (2 falls)

3/14/2013 - my sister and I went to Rabun Gap to redo the falls on Darnell Creek and while we were there we got this one on Black Rock Rd. This shows both falls in one photo, and in the video too.

5/14/2011 - went up above Clayton, GA to redo some falls and find some new ones. After I did Sylvan Lake Falls, I drove down Taylor Chapel Rd (past Sylvan Falls) all the way over to Black Rock Rd. As I was driving down this road - luckily with my windows open (!) - I heard a falls I'd never noticed before.

It's a tall falls, in two parts. The lower falls is right at your feet and you have to look pretty high up to see the upper falls. There's not a lot of water coming over, but it's steady.

GMAPS does not show this branch

GPS: 34°55'8"N 83°23'46"W

Directions and Information:

North on US 441/US 23
in Mountain City, left on Black Rock Mountain Parkway
Note: name changes to Erwin St
at .7 miles falls is on right immediately after a private drive

Note: there is nowhere to park opposite the falls, but the verge is wider a short way before the falls and on the left.

Friday, February 8, 2013

Lover's Leap falls- Rock City

2/8/2013 - found a picture of a big waterfall at Rock City and got so excited that I took a day off from work so my sister and could go see it. I'd never been to Rock City before and it was much more fascinating than I excpected it to be. Well worth the trip. But the falls, while beautiful, were a disappointment. When we got to it, it was obvious it was not natural...because there was no outflow stream from the pool at the base. So we asked, and were told that it was originally a natural stream, but only had a trickle of water...so they enhanced it.

So here it is, but it's not counted in the total since it isn't a natural falls. The deer are normal and albino Fallow Deer they have in a large enclosure. Very interesting little animals.

Directions and information: http://www.seerockcity.com/