List of waterfalls in North Georgia


The waterfalls of northern Georgia, U.S., are a prominent feature of the geography of that region, as well as a major focus of tourism and outdoor recreation. Many are located in state parks, national forests, wildlife management areas, and other public lands. Many are accessible—with varying degrees of ease or difficulty—via established hiking trails, and some developed areas include boardwalks, observation platforms, picnic areas, and other amenities. The Cherokee called this region "Land of a Thousand Waterfalls". The third-, fourth-, and fifth-highest waterfalls in the eastern United States are located in northern Georgia.
In this discussion, North Georgia refers to the mountainous regions of the extreme northern portion of the state, an area including Banks, Dade, Dawson, Fannin, Gilmer, Habersham, Lumpkin, Murray, Pickens, Rabun, Stephens, Towns, Union, Walker, and White Counties. There are, of course, waterfalls in other sections of the state; however, due to variations in both climate and terrain they are most abundant and most dramatic in the extreme north.

Falls by county

Waterfalls that are located on private property and thus inaccessible to the public are described as such or are marked . It is the visitor's responsibility to respect and honor the rights of private landholders.
Those maps, coordinates, and descriptions presented here are meant only to provide approximate or relative locations. Numerous publications and online resources are available to those wishing to visit these sites, both by foot and by vehicle. As many of these sites remain in a relatively wild state caution must be exercised at all times.

Dade County

Dawson County

Fannin County

Gilmer County

  • Barnes Creek Falls—in the Cohutta Wilderness Area near Murray County line; nearby mountaintop offers commanding view of the valley and Fort Mountain.
  • Falls on Davis Creek—located on private property but can be viewed from Pleasant Hill Road near the community of Pleasant Hill.
  • Falls Branch Falls—twin falls, "Lower" and "Upper", on Falls Branch near its confluence with Stanley Creek in northeast Gilmer, near the Fannin County line.
  • Julie Anna Falls—a fifty-foot falls on Turniptown Creek in the Rich Turniptown Mountain Wilderness Area of the Chattahoochee National Forest.
  • Tumbling Waters—Tails Creek falls in a series of cascades on its approach to Carters Lake.

Habersham County

  • Panther Creek Falls—located in the Panther Creek Recreation Area between Clarkesville and Tallulah Falls.
  • Shoals on Soque River—located on private property but readily accessible to the public. The Mark of the Potter, a potters' cooperative on Highway 197, occupies an old mill beside the Shoals, which can be viewed from the co-op's balcony. Coin-operated machines dispense food for fish and waterfowl.
  • Miner Shoals-located on private property, not accessible to the public. near vertical drop. "By far the best waterfall on the river" as stated by State Geologist S. W. McCallie in his Water Powers of Georgia, 1908.

Lumpkin County

  • Black Falls—on the grounds of Camp Frank D. Merrill, a Mountain Ranger camp north of Dahlonega. Public access may be restricted.
  • Blood Mountain Creek Falls—four falls.
  • Cane Creek Falls—located on the grounds of Camp Glisson, a camp operated by the United Methodist Church near Dahlonega, these falls are often open to the public.
  • Cannon Falls— located on Frogtown Creek, on the grounds of Cannon Falls Lodge, a private fishing preserve, and only accessible with a guide.
  • Clay Creek Falls—located on private property but easily viewed from Clay Creek Falls Road, just outside the city limits of Dahlonega.
  • Copper Mine Shoals—there are several rapid drops on the Chestatee River north of Dahlonega.
  • Cow Rock Creek Falls—near Boggs Creek Campground in the Chattahoochee National Forest.
  • DeSoto Falls—a pair of falls on Frogtown Creek in the DeSoto Falls Scenic Area of the Chattahoochee National Forest. According to legend, Hernando de Soto passed through the area in 1540.
  • Dick's Creek Falls—a pair of falls just below the site where Waters Creek joins Dicks Creek in the Chattahoochee National Forest.
  • Elvarado Falls—not open to the public.
  • Etowah River Shoals—the Etowah River rises in Lumpkin County, northwest of Dahlonega
  • Falls on Branch of Jones Creek—located in the Chattahoochee National Forest and easily accessible.
  • Falls on West Fork of Montgomery Creek—twenty-foot falls on the grounds of a US Army Ranger Camp.
  • Grindle Shoals—on private property along the Chestatee River but viewable from the bridge carrying Cavender Creek Road across the Chestatee in eastern Lumpkin, near the White County line.
  • High Shoals Falls—on Walden Creek; features a porch swing from which to view the falls.
  • Jones Creek Falls
  • Little Ridge Creek Falls—a trio of falls near Boggs Creek Campground in the Chattahoochee National Forest.
  • Martha Falls—on Pigeon Roost Creek; the area features spectacular lake and mountain views.
  • Trophy Falls— located on Frogtown Creek, on the grounds of Cannon Falls Lodge, a private fishing preserve, and only accessible with a guide.
  • Ward Creek Falls—near Justus Gap, northwest of Dahlonega.
  • Yahoola Creek Falls—just before the Yahoola Creek leaves the Chattahoochee National Forest. The remnants of Nineteenth Century gold-mining operations are nearby.

Murray County

  • Jigger Falls—on Jigger Creek, in the Cohutta Wilderness Area.
  • Mill Creek Falls—falls, shoals, and cascade on Mill Creek in Hickey Gap. Conasauga Lake, a high mountain lake, sits nearby.

Pickens County

  • Long Swamp Creek Falls—sixty-foot falls located on private property; access may be granted by land owners.

Rabun County

Rabun County is not only mountainous but it is also one of the rainiest areas east of the Mississippi River. These factors combine to produce many dramatic falls.

Stephens County

  • Toccoa Falls—dramatic falls located on the grounds of Toccoa Falls College in the city of Toccoa. The falls may be reached by a short, paved pathway and are accessible to the handicapped. The college charges a nominal fee for admission to the site. In 1977 a dam break just above the falls devastated the college and caused thirty-nine deaths. The site includes a memorial to those who perished.

Towns County

  • Blue Hole Falls and High Shoals Creek Falls—located on High Shoals Creek in the High Shoals Scenic Area of the Chattahoochee National Forest; features two observation decks.
  • Denton Branch Falls—easily accessible thirty-foot falls located near Tate City; the approach reveals numerous smaller falls and shoals.
  • Cupid Falls—near Young Harris College in Young Harris.
  • Enota Mountain Retreat & Conference Center—the grounds of this facility in Hiawassee contain several falls; visitors must obtain permission before accessing the property.

Union County

  • Canada Creek Falls–there are several falls on Canada Creek, both within the boundaries of the Chattahoochee National Forest and after the creek enters private lands. The Upper Falls are on public land, above the confluence of the Wildhog Creek and Canada Creek.
  • Falls on the Upper Chattahoochee—on the headwaters of the Chattahoochee River, which rushes through a two-foot-wide channel at one point.
  • Helton Creek Falls–a pair of falls in a rhododendron grove in the Chattahoochee National Forest; the approach includes a well-maintained stairway and an observation platform.
  • Horsetrough Falls–an easily accessible falls located where Horsetrough Creek joins the headwaters of the Chattahoochee River, in the southeast corner of the county; the approach includes a footbridge which is the first bridge on the Chattahoochee.
  • Lake Trahlyta Spillway–on Wolf Creek just below the dam in Vogel State Park; the approach includes a boardwalk trail and an observation platform.

Walker County

  • Glen Falls—a series of small falls on Lookout Mountain near Chattanooga, close to the Tennessee line, maintained by the National Park Service.
  • Keown Falls—located in the Keown Falls Scenic Area near the cities of Villanow and LaFayette, the falls flow over a wide cliff, sometimes as a narrow, freefalling ribbon of water.
  • Lula Falls—two falls on Rock Creek, on Lookout Mountain. The property is owned by the and the public is welcome on the first and last Saturday of every month. Other unusual geological features can be found on the property.
  • Pocket Branch Falls—Pocket Branch flows out of a canyon on the west side of Pigeon Mountain, in the Pigeon Mountain Wildlife Management Area. The Shirley Miller Wildflower Trail is a boardwalk trail below the falls.

White County