I love a good waterfall. There's something so relaxing about sitting beside one and just "being". Then, of course, there's the whole photography aspect. David, Jonathan and I recently set out on a day long journey to find 12 waterfalls. We succeeded in locating 7 of them. Here is the path we followed, and some alternatives should you wish to do only part of the tour. Enjoy!
Take Hwy 515 East toward Blairsville. At the traffic light at McDonald's, make a right. Go to the stop sign facing the BiLo and make a left. This takes you to the round about at the courthouse. When you enter the roundabout, take the first right onto Hwy 19/129 East.
If you're interested and haven't seen Helton Creek Falls, watch for the sign for Vogel State Park on your right. Just after the park, you will see a sign for Helton Creek Falls on the left. Take this road and follow it until you see the parking area for the falls. They are a short walk from the parking area.
Return to Hwy 19/129. Continue East to Turner's Corner (you have to pay attention here - if you get to talking you will blow right by it.) Make a right at Turner's Corner, and then the next right where the sign is for the Baptist Church. Follow this road about 3 miles or so to Dick's Creek Falls. It's a beautiful drive. You'll see the falls from the road, but don't get all excited and stop here. Drive a bit farther to the parking area on the right. There is an easy path to the lower falls. Don't miss the upper falls as well - they are gorgeous!
Return to Hwy 19/129, making a right to continue east to Cleveland. Pick up 115 E (a/k/a Clarksville Highway) into Clarksville. The driving time to this point is about an hour or so. Now, in Clarksville, it gets kind of tricky. You come into an adorable historic downtown area and a t-intersection. We went right, on 441 south, eventually picking up 441 North toward to Tallulah Falls. This was not part of the plan. The plan, and the more efficient route, is to pick up 385 N/E out of Clarksville, which I think involves making a left and then a quick right at the t-intersection. Either way, your goal is to be on 441 N.
You'll come into Tallulah Falls and see a sign for "the only roadside viewing location" of Tallulah Gorge, to the right. This is an adorable little store and the proprietors didn't blink when Maxie went running right in. Apparently they like dogs. They have a porch with one of those coin operated viewers and in the fall and winter, the view would be really spectacular.
Return to 441 and you'll now be following directions from Photographer JJAnthony's website. The first set of falls to tour is Panther and Angel. http://www.jjanthony.com/waterfalls/falls/pantherfalls.html
The hike to these two is a little bit steep, but not overwhelming. The scenery along the way is fabulous.
Return to your vehicle after enjoying the falls, and continue along Lake Rabun Road, to Minnehaha Falls. http://www.jjanthony.com/waterfalls/falls/minnehahafalls.html. Please note that Mr. Anthony's directions are someone older, and the one lane road below the damn is now a very nice, 2 lane, concrete bridge. The parking at Minnehaha is a little limited, so be careful. If you don't have 4WD, don't pull down too far into the parking area or you might be spending a bit of time there... You will see stairs with To Minnehaha scratched into them. This is an easy walk to a large waterfall that is great for playing and splashing. Photographers, the light at noon is HORRID. Very difficult to get good shots mid-day. Just sayin'.
Return to your vehicle, and continue on to Bad Branch Falls http://www.jjanthony.com/waterfalls/falls/badbranchfalls.html. If you see nothing else today, this is the waterfall NOT TO MISS. It is exotic, angular, and simply stunning. Parking is wherever you can find it, however, there is a maintained recreation area just a smidge down the road, with restrooms, if, unlike me, you mind parking your vehicle semi-sideways up a mountain. This is an easy walk, and you will have a hard time pulling yourself away. Photography heaven.
So, now you have to really pay attention. The next waterfall is actually a double, and is simply known as the Falls on Crow Creek. http://www.jjanthony.com/waterfalls/falls/crowcreekfalls.html Continue on Crow Creek Road (which you were on to observe Bad Branch Falls). The mileage in the directions is just a teeny bit short. You will see a SMALL stream with an accompanying path that has blocking mounds as described in the directions. BUT, unless you see the waterfall, just like the one in the picture, you haven't gone far enough. Go about another 0.10 miles to the actual site, which is easily identifiable by the large waterfall visible from the road. Trust us, the first trail goes NO WHERE. It is steep, not maintained, and there aren't any waterfalls. :) When you are at the proper location, follow the small trail to the right up to the second waterfall. There is a rather steep descent to the first falls should you wish to visit them at ground level.
Return to your vehicle and continue in the direction you were heading. It is a well maintained gravel road and the scenery/lush forest is pretty. Take Crow Creek to Burton Dam Road, make a right. Follow this to the first left onto Bridge Creek Road. Take this 2 miles to Charlie Mountain Road on the left. Follow this to Hwy 76 and make a right and take it into Clayton. If you want to eat at the Dillard House, you can make a left and take 441 just a short drive up to Dillard.
For waterfall tour continuation, make a left at the intersection of 76 and 441 (there is a Wendy's just across the intersection. Take the next road on the right, Warwoman Road. The only stop we did on this road is Becky Branch Falls. http://www.jjanthony.com/waterfalls/falls/beckybranch.html Now, you can go into Warwoman Dell and park at the first parking lot on the left. The trail would be on the other side of the road, heading back up toward Warwoman. OR, you can look for the Bartram Trail side on Warwoman, and park at the little pull off across the street from it. The falls are accessible from trails on either side of the branch that runs under the road. We found the left side to be a little bit easier. There is a footbridge where you may view the falls. The overgrowth is pretty heavy right now so fall/winter would be best for viewing.
If you like, you may continue on Warwoman Road, picking up Hwy 28N into Highlands, and return home via Hwy 64W. There are numerous waterfalls along Hwy 64W (Bridal Veil, Dry Falls, and several others...) for your enjoyment. As of this writing, the walkways at Dry Falls are under repair and the falls are not open to the public. I would assume they are doing this now so as to have them reopened for peak leaf season, and this waterfall, which you may walk behind, is very special and not to be missed.
If you don't want to add another 1.5 hours to your trip, return to Clayton on Warwoman Road, and take Hwy 76 W (go back to the Wendy's intersection, make a right. Hwy 76 will take you into Hiawassee, and then becomes Hwy 515/76 which will bring you back through Blairsville, then 16.2 miles to Loving Road and back to the mountain. You will pass through Young Harris, and see signs for Crane Creek Winery. This diversion of only a few miles puts you at one of the most beautiful pieces of property, and the only winery in the area that produces 100% locally grown/processed wines. Enjoy a wine tasting and some light snacks on their porch, and feel free to explore the property. The proprietors could not be nicer!
Enjoy!
