See up to 15 in one day. Alabama and NW Georgia.
I’ll work on adding pictures to this blog post.
This Waterfall Road Trip can be done in one summer day. We actually did it during the winter, but the longer days of summer really help. IF the Lake Lula Land Trust is open when you go (first and third Saturday and Sunday of the month, May-November, Go there for your first stop! If not, follow directions below. Directions for Lake Lula are at the bottom of this blog.
Starting point: Waterfalls are in Cloudland Canyon State Park
- From the viewing area of the overlook, just beyond the parking lot at Cloudland Canyon parking area, look straight across the gorge to see the first waterfall along the west rim. I don’t know that it has a name.
- Cherokee Falls
- Hemlock Falls
- Follow the trail only 50 yards more from Hemlock Falls to see the other 2 unnamed falls which are very close together on the same stream.
Stop 1: Cloudland Canyon State Park is in the NW corner of Georgia.
The address is 22 Cloudland Canyon Park Rd Rising Fawn, GA 30738-4324 and coordinates are: 34.83449 -85.4797 See post on Cloudland Canyon for more details. The time to see these falls is a minimum of an hour and a half if you aren’t lingering. I could totally do it from the front gate, down and back in 1 hour, but I’m tacking on 30 minutes to be reasonable. A family with young kids could do it in 2 hours, easily.
Stop 2: Waterfall 6: Desoto Falls DeSoto State Park (North Alabama)
901-905 County Road 613 Mentone, AL 35984
34.5490° 85.5905° (see Desoto Falls Post for more details) Quick walk-30 minute stop.
Stop 3: Waterfall 7: Indian Falls (Also in Desoto State Park)
Quick walk-15 minute stop. 7104 Desoto Parkway NE, Fort Payne, Al 35967 You will see a short trail on the right side of the road and a parking lot on the left side of the road. Take the trail on the right. I guess this depends on which direction you are coming from, however it’s on the opposite side of the road from the parking lot. You will see a wooden sign that says “Indian Falls”. It’s about a 200 yard walk, if that.
Stop 4: Waterfall 8: Martha Falls (North Alabama/Little River Canyon)
Quick walk-15 minute stop 34.3949 -86.6254 You can walk or drive just down the street to Hippie Hole or Little River Falls. See coordinates below.
Stop 5: Waterfall 9: Little River Falls (North Alabama/Little River Canyon/Hippie Hole)
Quick walk, but steep stairs-30-45 minute stop. Coordinates for the parking area. 34.3920, -85.6188.
Stop 6: Waterfall 10: High Falls
969 County Road 144 Groveoak, Al 35975 Put High Falls Park, Alabama or the address into Google Maps or your phone map and that will get you there. Quick walk-30 minute stop.
Stop 7: Waterfall 11: Griffin Falls
Dekalb county copy and paste coordinates into maps on your phone 34.2877423 -85.9306859 When I searched Griffin Falls, Al on my iPhone maps, it took us to a random field and we wandered through it for 10 minutes before realizing we were in someone’s yard. ?? Use Google Maps for this one. It’s accurate. Quick walk-30-45 minute stop.
Stop 8: Waterfall 12: Yellow Creek Falls (North Alabama Gadsden Area)
Quick walk-30-45 minute stop. 720 county road 365 Cedar Bluff, Al 35983 or Copy and paste 34.2246 -85.7280 Park and walk upstream from here.
Stop 9 Waterfall 13: Noccalula Falls
No walk. 15 minute stop, 45 if you walk to the bottom. Copy and paste into your phone map 34.0412 -86.0202 or 1500 Noccalula Rd Gadsden, Al 35904.
Stop 10: Waterfalls 14 and 15 (really stop 1 if you choose this option)
IF the Lake Lula Land Trust is open when you go (first and third Saturday and Sunday of the month, May-November, Go there for your first stop! It’s in the NW corner of Georgia very close to Cloudland Canyon. 34.9194° N, 85.3862° W Address: 5000 Lula Lake Rd, Lookout Mountain, GA 30750 Quick walk 1 hour stop because it’s breath taking and you simply must walk to the bottom. There are actually 2 falls here.
