The thunderous echoes of falling water are unmistakable, unforgettable even, the oft-deafening roar created by wildly flowing rivers and creeks deepened to swift currents by rainwater and snowmelt. The velocity of waterfalls can be incredible, and in stunning juxtaposition, the mist generated by the riotous movement of water is soft and light and as weightless as a butterfly’s wings.
The romantic lure of waterfalls is difficult to resist, and there is perhaps no place where they are more beautiful than in Georgia. Most waterfalls are in the northern tier of the Peach State, high in the Blue Ridge Mountains above Atlanta. On a cold, blustery and snowy late winter day, after a false spring had already urged the mountain laurel and rhododendron to bud, my husband and I set out for the Blue Ridge to see as many waterfalls as possible in one day. While the weather was predicted to be sunny, it fooled us and gray dominated the skies. But even that didn’t deter us, and truthfully the light sleet and snow only added to the romance of chasing waterfalls.
Armed with a map of North Georgia, we had a sense of where we were going, but not really. We were traveling for the pure adventure of it all and to see what we could see — and didn’t care if we got lost.
A day of water
After our late afternoon arrival at Amicalola Falls, our first stop on our waterfalls journey, we briefly hiked in the lightly drifting snow to the 729-foot falls, the highest and mightiest in Georgia. Amicalola has humble beginnings as a trickle of Amicalola Creek, whose genesis is far up in the Blue Ridge. Amicalola, a Cherokee word for “tumbling waters,” was fast and furious, and at the same time all silky, silvery and luminous in the waning sunlight. Later, we overnighted at Amicalola Falls State Park and Lodge, where we feasted on Georgia mountain trout and collard greens.
The next morning the snow still fell. The prediction of sunny skies had failed us once again. As we slowly snaked over meandering mountain roads dusted with snow, deep evergreen forests, and steep drop-offs, we passed all manner of bubbling, clear mountain streams. As they flow down the mountainsides, they make their own diminutive waterfalls, some of them pretty significant in height. Before we began our journey, we read of estimates of 120 to 125 waterfalls in the state, and I wondered if some of these roadside wonders were included among that number.
We drove toward De Soto Falls, named after the intrepid explorer Hernando De Soto, in the Chattahoochee National Forest. De Soto came marching through Georgia back in the 1500s in his discovery of the New World, and even now cities, towns and, of course, waterfalls throughout Florida, Georgia and Mississippi are named after him.
After a quick visit at DeSoto Falls, snowflakes freckled the windshield as we drove on toward Helton Creek Falls near Vogel State Park, just a few miles northward from De Soto Falls. The road leading down to the falls isn’t much more than a narrow one-lane gravel path, but we made it in our tiny old Mini Cooper, and then walked a steep path to the double falls nestled among the hemlock. At its base the water has carved a swimming hole that could easily and instantly cool you down if it were summer.
The sun was beginning to peek out as we made our way next to Anna Ruby Falls on the edge of Unicoi State Park near Helen, the Bavarian-style village in the heart of Georgia’s Blue Ridge complete with Old World cobblestone streets, clock towers, and plenty of gingerbread trim. Call it Germany comes to Georgia where it’s easy to find lots of beer and brats on restaurant menus. Before we went to the falls, we had lunch at Hofer’s of Helen, its shelves crammed with freshly baked German breads and rich, scrumptious desserts that include Black Forest and German chocolate tortes. We walked off the dessert climbing to the top of Anna Ruby Falls, its descending columns of water simply spectacular, almost like tumbling bridal veils of water shining as gemstones in the hide-and-seek sunshine.
From Helen we drove an hour or so eastward toward Tallulah Falls in Tallulah Falls State Park. The falls, a series of six that cut through the 2-mile-long and 1,000-foot-deep Tallulah Gorge, is unquestionably stunning and pristine. Its centerpiece is a dramatic suspension bridge that sways across the gorge. I’m terrified of things that sway in the wind, so I kept off it, but that didn’t stop others from jaunting across it on that blustery day.
Unexpected waterfalls
While North Georgia does have its share of waterfalls, there are always anomalies, the rogues, and in flat-as-a-fritter South Georgia, where from Macon southward you could practically see all the way to Florida were it not for bazillion acres of pine trees, there is a waterfall that has no business at all existing where it does.
This out-of-the-way waterfall in Coffee County, almost 200 miles south of Atlanta, is called Broxton Rocks for its proximity to the tiny town of Broxton. It was once Georgia’s best kept secret, a place known only to locals, before it was purchased by The Nature Conservancy to conserve its rare wildlife such as the indigo snake and gopher tortoise and plant life including 15 species of orchids.
At the heart of the rugged landscape of Broxton Rocks is its spectacular stair-step waterfall, its longest tendril only about a dozen feet. Certainly it is diminutive by North Georgia’s standards, but its natural setting far back in the woods among the longleaf pine and towering oaks makes it seem bigger, grander somehow. For the true nature aficionado, it is worth driving miles of blacktop back roads, then dirt roads, and then a hefty mile-long hike into the woods to see its dramatic beauty. But note that Broxton Rocks is accessible only by foot and only in summer and other special dates set by The Nature Conservancy.
Eating and sleeping along the way
Amicalola Falls State Park and Lodge, where we overnighted, is near Dawsonville and is a full-service resort with rooms, suites and cottages. Lucille’s Mountain Top Inn in Sautee Nacoochee, where I have stayed before but not on this trip, is the go-to for a luxurious mountaintop bed-and-breakfast experience offering a gourmet breakfast with spectacular 360-degree views of the Blue Ridge. And there’s Unicoi Lodge and Cabins in Helen, a picturesque retreat in a natural setting with accommodations such as a traditional state park lodge and unique barrel-shaped cabins.
For dining, I like Mully’s Nacoochee Grill in Helen for its mountain trout, shrimp and grits and other Southern staples in a fun, casual atmosphere. There’s Fortify Kitchen and Bar in Clayton, near lots of waterfalls, for farm-to-table cuisine and cocktails. For more traditional homestyle dining, try the Smith House in Dahlonega for fried chicken, ham and plenty of vegetables served family-style. Near Broxton Rocks, in the small town of Hazlehurst, try Three Magnolia for sandwiches, salads and homemade desserts, or in Douglas the recommendation is J&D Café for its fresh cuisine, including fried green tomatoes as an appetizer or in a panini.
The last word
Waterfalls simply have a way of drawing romantics to them, like a siren of sorts, and afford a sense of tranquility and peace as no other natural phenomenon can. The raging water has the ability to drown out the rest of the world, for a while at least, leaving time for just the two of you to savor the moments that Mother Nature creates.
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