Hiking to Water Falls From Chattanooga By Robert Duane Nickols Over 100 Waterfalls within an hour or two from Chattanooga, TN.
Table of Contents Glen Falls (15’) .............................................................................................. 1 Foster Falls (60’)............................................................................................ 5 Bridal Veil Falls (50’) .................................................................................... 13 Benton Falls (65’) ........................................................................................ 18 DeSoto Falls (100’) ...................................................................................... 25 Little River Falls (50’) & Martha Falls .............................................................. 29 Suter Falls (50’)........................................................................................... 34 Ozone Falls (110’) ........................................................................................ 41 Upper Greeter Falls (15’), Lower Greeter Falls (50’) and Upper Broadtree Falls (30’) ................................................................................................................. 47 Upper (80’) & Lower (40’) Piney Falls ............................................................. 55 Mill Creek Falls (30’)..................................................................................... 61 Fall Creek Falls (256’) Cane Creek Falls (85’), Cane Creek Cascades (45’) and Piney Creek Falls (75’) .......................................................................................... 67 Burgess Falls (Big Falls 136’), First Falls (30’) and Middle Falls (80’)................... 76 Pocket Branch Falls ...................................................................................... 87 Twin Falls (80’) & Great Falls (20’) ................................................................. 92 Rutledge Falls (30’) ...................................................................................... 99 Machine Falls (60’) & Busby Falls ................................................................. 104 James H. (Sloppy) Floyd State Park Marble Mine and 35’ Water falls................. 111 Amicalola Falls (729’) ................................................................................. 114 Cummins Falls (75’) ................................................................................... 122 Falls Branch Falls (70’) & Bald River Falls (90’) .............................................. 128 Soco Falls (120’) ........................................................................................ 135 Trahlyta Falls (110’) ................................................................................... 137 Rattlesnake Falls or Rainbow Falls or Chestnut Mountain Falls (60’)and Lower Falls or Rock Creek Falls (20’)............................................................................. 142 Bluehole Falls and several falls .................................................................... 149 Lowry Falls (10’) ........................................................................................ 154 Conasauga Falls (30'-40') ........................................................................... 159
Rainbow Falls (40’)..................................................................................... 161 Keown Falls (60’) ....................................................................................... 171 Kahuna Falls (10’), Bald River Cascade (10’), Suislide Falls (35’) and Shallow Falls (15’)......................................................................................................... 175 Mill Creek Falls (30’) Mill Creek Cascades and Upper Mill Creek Falls (~10’)....... 182 Tom Pack Falls (20’) and two cascades ......................................................... 186 Richey Ridge Falls (18’), Breaker Falls (12’) and Canyon Falls (65’) .................. 191 Flat Branch Falls (95’) & Rocky Branch Falls (85’) .......................................... 197 Hemlock Falls (9’), Deep Pool Cascades, White Pines Cascades ........................ 204 Hanes Hole Falls (9’-10’), Black Canyon Cascades (12’), Chimney Rocks (3-5), Sycamore Falls (12’), Blue Hole Falls (9’), School Branch Falls (20’), 500 year old Hemlock tree............................................................................................. 208 Savage Falls (30’), Rattlesnake Point Overlook .............................................. 217 Little Rock Creek Falls (50’)......................................................................... 223 Alaculsy Falls (30’) ..................................................................................... 227 Helton Creek Falls (Upper and Lower)........................................................... 229 Potters Falls (Upper and Lower) ................................................................... 234 Cane Creek Falls (40’) ................................................................................ 236 Sea Creek Falls (25’) .................................................................................. 241 Long Creek Falls (50’)................................................................................. 245 High Shoals Falls on Walden Creek (30’) ....................................................... 255 Anna Ruby Falls (Curtis Creek Falls 153’ and York Creek Falls 50’) ................... 261 Little Falls (60’) ......................................................................................... 269 Noccalula Falls (90') ................................................................................... 272 High Falls (35’), DeKalb County, AL.............................................................. 277 Cascade Falls (15’), AEDC and George Dickel................................................. 280 Coker Creek Falls (Cascades) ...................................................................... 285 Baby Falls (15’) ......................................................................................... 291 Goforth Creek Falls..................................................................................... 295 Lost Creek Falls and Cave ........................................................................... 297 Ballplay Falls (45’) ..................................................................................... 301 Egypt Hollow Falls (12’) .............................................................................. 305
Graham Branch Falls (10’)........................................................................... 306 Towee Falls (40’) ....................................................................................... 308 Wildcat Falls (35’) ...................................................................................... 310 Barnes Creek Falls (15’).............................................................................. 312
1 Glen Falls (15’) Near Lookout Mountain Directions: Get on Broad Street Take a slight left on Tennessee Ave. or St. Elmo Ave. about 0.4 mi. Turn right on TN-58 S or Ochs Highway and go about 1.2 mi. Pass Sanders Road on your right. About 150-200 yards on your left is a pull-off for about 3 cars and trailhead. NOTE: It is easy to miss. There are two trailheads on Ochs Highway. This is the lower one. The trail is less than a mile both ways from this trailhead. I got about 1.26 mi. round trip. The trail is an easy hike and it is well marked and pretty wide. There is the falls, a bridge, stone steps and a little cave. It was really a tunnel under an overhanging rock. We saw Trillium plants along the trail. If you continue on the trail, you will come out on Ochs Highway. Then you will have to walk down the busy highway to your car.
2 Glen Falls
3 Me on the bridge
4 The small cave
5 Foster Falls (60’) Near Tracy City, TN Directions: From I-24 take exit 155 Take TN-28 N for 1.7 mi. Take exit left onto US-41 M/US 64 W/US-72 W for 0.7 mi. Turn right onto Betsy Pack Drive or US-41 N/TN-150) for 1.2 mi. Bear left on US-41 N/TN-150) for 7.5 mi. Turn left onto Foster Falls Road for 0.4 mi to parking lot Forster Falls Recreation Area is operated by TVA. It is known to climbers all over the world as one of the best climbing sites in the Southeast. It is a short walk (125 yards) from the parking lot to the overlook. The trail to the base of the falls is well marked and steep. It is only about 0.5 mi. to the creek and base of the falls. There is a nice bridge across the creek to a place where you can get a great picture of the falls. You can even feel the mist from the falls. The trail continues for miles along the rock bluff and creek where you might see some climbers.
6
7 Walkway to the overlook
8 View from overlook
9
10 From here it was 0.5 mi. to creek and base of falls
11 Bridge across creek at base of falls
12 View at base of falls and you can feel the mist
13 Bridal Veil Falls (50’) On the campus of Sewanee: University of the South near Monteagle, TN Directions: From I-24 take exit 134 Turn left onto TN-15 W/TN-56 S/US-41A N/W Main St., go 4 mi. Turn right onto University Ave., go 1.3 mi. Turn right (3rd right) onto Laurel Dr., go 0.3 mi. to Morgan’s Steep and trailhead Bridal Veil Falls dumps into a hole in the ground and who knows where it comes out. There is a beautiful view from Morgan’s steep. Take the trail to Elliott Point for about 0.1 mile to a bridge and another sign. You will cross a small bridge and it is not far from the falls. You will be on the Perimeter Trail (blue blaze) and you will have to leave it to go on the Bridal Veil Trail (white blaze). Take the trail to Bridal Veil Falls. It says 0.7 miles but we got about 0.8 miles. Follow the white blazes. The trail is well marked but steep in places.
14 View from Morgan’s Steep
15 Sign says 0.7 mi. but I got 0.8 mi.
16 The small bridge
17 Bridal Veil Falls
18 Benton Falls (65’) Near Benton, TN Directions: From I-75 take exit 20 Take US-74 E/US-64 E/APD 40 for 6.4 mi. Merge right onto US-64 E/US-74 E/Waterlevel Hwy for 7.7 mi. Turn left onto US-411 N for 5.9 mi. Turn right onto TN-314 S/Parksville Rd. for 1.3 mi. Turn left onto Benton Springs Rd. for 2.8 mi. Turn left into Oswald Rd. for 1.3 mi. Turn right and go 0.5 mi. Turn left and go 0.2 mi. to parking lot Benton falls is located within Cherokee National Forest near McCamy Lake in Chilhowee Recreation Area. The trail was well-marked with a blue blaze. The trail is rated easy except at the end. It was a great trip and a beautiful falls. There are nice restrooms. There is a $3 per vehicle fee for day use. You fill out a form and stick the money in an envelope and into a box. McCamy Lake is a short walk from the parking lot. It is a man-made lake with an earth dam and a beach area. After you cross the earth dam, you will see a sign (Trail No. 131). It is about 1.5 miles to the falls from there. The trail is very wide and you walk on sand. There are steep steps at the falls. The last 0.1 miles is down some steep steps to the bottom of the falls. You can go to the top of the falls and not go all the way down to the bottom. There are plenty of other trails. It says Benton Falls is 1.55 miles, one way. There are several overlooks on the way up or down the mountain where you can see Parksville Lake or Ocoee Lake.
19 Restrooms at parking lot
20 From here it is about 1.5 miles to the falls.
21 Wide sandy trail (blue blaze)
22 When you see this sign, you are almost there
23 Benton Falls
24 View of lake from overlook on mountain
25 DeSoto Falls (100’) Near Mentone, AL Directions: On I-24 take exit 167 onto I-59 S Take I-59 S for 29.7 mi. Take exit 231 onto AL-40/AL-117 Turn left onto AL-117 S/AL-40 E for 1.3 mi. Turn right onto AL-7/US-11 S for 0.1 mi. Take 1st left onto AL-117 S for 2 mi. Turn right on 4th Ave. for 0.7 mi. Take a right and a left on CR-89 to go straight onto CR-613 for 1 mile to parking lot The falls was named after Hernando DeSoto the Spanish explorer from 1540. Union cavalry troops camped on the West Fork of the Little River just above DeSoto Falls in 1863 and the U.S. 20th Corps crossed Lookout Mountain at Mentone on its way to the Battle of Chickamauga. The falls is a good ways from Desoto State Park so don't go there to see the falls. The falls is just a few hundred yards from the parking lot to the overlook. You will see a lake, A. A. Miller Dam, upper falls and DeSoto Falls.
26 Arthur Abernathy Miller Dam
27 Upper falls and dam
28 DeSoto Falls
29 Little River Falls (50’) & Martha Falls Near Fort Payne, AL Directions: From I-24 to Nashville/Birmingham, take exit 167 onto I-59 S Take I-59 S for 39 mi. Take exit 222 Turn left onto Greenhill Blvd. NW and go 1.1 mi. Take a slight right onto Gault Ave. N and go 1.9 mi. Turn left onto 5th St. and go 0.4 mi. Turn left onto AL-35 S/Wallace Ave. NE and go 7.5 mi. Cross the bridge and park in the parking lot on your right. Little River Falls is the start of the Little River Canyon. There is a short wooden walkway right next to the parking lot that takes you to a very nice view of the Little River Falls. All this is a part of the Little River National Preserve. Martha Falls was formerly Little Falls and is a popular swimming hole. Rafters come down the Little River sometimes. The trail to Martha Falls is at the far end of the parking lot. It is almost a mile and can be rugged at times. The trail is pretty much flat most of the way until the end. From the parking area, follow the road for about 0.2 miles. Beginning here the trail is not well marked. It is strenuous and steep over slippery rocks and tree roots. When you come out of the woods into the creek, the falls is several yards downstream so remember where you came out of the woods. The falls goes over a large rock into a wide pool.
30 Walkway from parking lot to Little River Falls
31 Little River Falls and Highway 35
32 Road to Martha Falls
33 The steep part with slippery rocks and tree roots
34 Martha Falls Suter Falls (50’) Near Gruetli-Laager, TN Direction: Take I-24 W toward Nashville/Birmingham Take exit 155 onto TN-28 N for 12 mi. Turn left onto S Main St. for 0.8 mi. Take TN-108N/Cumberland Dr. for 16.9 mi. Turn right onto 55th Ave. for 2.7 mi. to parking lot
35 The trail is well marked, short but very steep near the end. It is part of the Collins West trailhead. You will see a spring, little one-man bridge, lots of signs and a big one-man bridge at the falls. We hiked 0.24 miles to a sign that said we had 1/3 of a mile to the falls. After the 1/3 of a mile sign we came to a 1/4 mile sign. There is a cascade falls below Suter Falls. Some of the hike is along the base of a rock bluff. Spring
36 Small one-man bridge
37 We hiked 0.24 miles to this sign
38 Now we have ¼ miles
39 Big one-man bridge at the falls
40 Suter Falls
41 Small cascade below Suter Falls Trail is along base of bluff (upper left of photo) Ozone Falls (110’) Near Crab Orchard, TN Directions: Head NW on TN-153 N Merge onto US-27 N/TN-111 for 9.8 mi. Exit onto US-27 N for 46.4 mi. Turn left onto TN-1 N/US-70 W for 7.6 mi. to parking lot for Ozone Falls State Natural Area
42 This was a short hike (they say about 0.5 mi. out and back) to the base of a 110' falls. From Chattanooga, it was four lanes all the way except for the last 7.5 miles. It is not a very big parking area. There is a trail, to the right of the sign, along the road but it was grown up pretty bad. It is best to follow the road to a very long man-made rock wall beside the road. Turn left at the near end of this wall and go down a rocky, steep unmarked trail to the falls. From the sign to the base of the falls is only about 0.1-.02 miles or 10 minutes. The rock bluff is on your left all the way down to the falls. This was a gambler's cave at one time in the past. It was about half way down to the base of the falls. The trail is rated moderate. You can hike to the top of the falls and we did by accident. There is a video of a guy going over this in a kayak. There was a lot more water when he did it. It is only about 100 yards from the parking lot to the top of the falls. Don’t let your kids stray because there were no fences. Sign for parking lot
43 From here you can go to the top or base of the falls.
44 The trail is well worn but not marked and follows the bluff on your left
45 Gambler’s cave
46 Ozone Falls