Overall great hike. A few steep sections but nothing too crazy. Beautiful scenery the whole way…read more Would recommend for anyone looking for a solid outdoor experience.

My partner and I recently visited Clarksville for a spontaneous hiking trip. Panther Creek Trail…read morewas at the very top of our list and we were not disappointed. At first we were worried that the trail would be closed due to the storm damage that occurred during the prior year but we drove by and there were multiple parties going in and out of the trail so we figured we would go for it! This trail is long and arduous, so be prepared! Us Floridians definitely overestimated our hiking abilities but we still got it done (thankfully). Bring around 2L per person or more if it's a hot day. We started on a Friday around 2pm and finished by 6:30pm and clocked in a total of 8 miles round trip. If you can go earlier, I highly recommend doing so to have plenty of light. There's two main parts of the trail where the bridges were damaged and removed. In one section, there's several logs that lay across the stream. Find a big stick, and scramble across. In the second section, the water is shallow enough to walk across without the possibility of getting your legs wet. But even if you get wet, both sections are not deeper than your ankle. I don't know if I'd recommend this for children as there are multiple sudden drop offs but more power to you if your family can do this! If you are a hiker, this does not disappoint!

This gem of a waterfall isn't even listed in the brochure of SC waterfalls that I got at Lake…read moreKeowee last year. Good thing I had it bookmarked on here thankx to Richard R. I would have ventured here on my own with my 3 crazy children, but thankfully a friend met us here with her child. Very thankful indeed. The parking area is very small, allowing a few spots for cars. Had no problem finding space on a Tuesday afternoon. The trail to the waterfall is very short, maybe 3-5 minutes. Not difficult at all so that even older folks and toddlers can manage it. The waterfall is gorgeous! There is a small wading area at the base, so we strapped on our water shoes and explored. It's not quite large enough to swim around comfortably, but does become deeper the closer you go to the falls. I did manage to climb up some of the rocks on the left side, but it was quite slippery so I took my time. Apparently, there is access to climb up to the top on the right side as well, but that looked too dangerous for me. We even saw a not-so-small crayfish in the water with its claws. We had this place to ourselves for a good 25 minutes before a young couple showed up. I'm sure it wasn't the romantic moment they were looking for. I really hope the guy wasn't planning a proposal, because when we finally left another family with floats was already heading that way. Haha. Maybe it's not as secluded as I thought. We ended up heading to another waterfall, but on the way there I saw a strange Wild West style town on Hwy. 76. Can anyone tell me what that is all about?? I tried to Google it, but couldn't find it and I need to know that I'm not going crazy and seeing ghost towns. Thank you in advance! Planning on coming back here very soon with my hubby and boys. Happy yelping!

Great spot too spend a couple hours. Beautiful water views great hiking trails Love the fact it's…read moreusually not crowded

During busy times you may have problems finding parking (paid area) The trail starts off with a…read morecouple of flights of stairs. When you reach the top the left side is the "easier" side up to the top and the right side is more stone stairs that is a shorter distance, but tougher climb. We took the left side going up and down. There are large rock areas along the way, which might make it difficult if you have mobility problems. Otherwise, it was a bit wet on the path in places, but it had rained a good bit of the day before. The whole path is a light incline the entire way up, but an easy decline on the way down. There are no sitting areas along the path when you reached the top there are two overlooked areas. The better view is the one all the way to the right there is a sign, noting the continental divide on either side of White side Mountain very cool. It was definitely worth the hike. It took us about 30 minutes to get to the top. I saw people with dogs and children a lot. It is a very family friendly activity.

This might be my new favorite trail! The parking lot was very busy but we did not see many people…read moreon the trail. There are lots of look outs and the views are amazing! Bathrooms are pretty gross.

*** WARNING: DO NOT ATTEMPT TO HIKE THIS TRAIL ALONE!!! ***…read more Lately I've been wanting to do some off trail hiking because there are hundreds of waterfalls in Northern Georgia that don't have neat, easy to follow "official trails" with signs & blaze marks. Thusly, these trails are less traveled and are better suited for experienced hikers. Not to mention the Coronavirus has me wanting to avoid people as much as possible. Sarah's Creek Falls has been on my radar for a while because the overall hiking distance is relatively short and it boasts TWO LARGE WATERFALLS (+ a smaller one near the campgrounds). ~~~ [ DIRECTIONS TO TRAILHEAD ] Turn North onto Sarah's Creek Road from Warwoman Road. Follow it approx. 1.9 miles to the campground. PASS THE CAMPGROUND ENTRANCE and stay straight on Sarah's Creek Road. You will cross a small bridge over Sarah's Creek in approx. 500 feet. Not long past the bridge the road will fork. STAY LEFT. About 500 yards past the fork you will come to a dirt road on your left. TURN HERE and follow it to the parking area for Sarah's Creek Falls. ~~~ [ THE EXPERIENCE ] Once parked, we secured the car and walked around the forest service gate onto the grassy old service road. HERE'S WHERE IT GETS TRICKY. There is no sign telling where the trail begins off this old road so pay close attention: The old grassy road curves to the right about 200 feet after the gate. Continue to follow for about 750 feet to the last possible trail on the right. There are several faint trails off to your right side but keep going. In total you should walk about 1,000 feet (or 1/5 of a mile) to the trail. The day we visited, the correct trail had pink ribbons tied to the trees at the entrance point guiding you all the way down to the upper falls. To assure you it is the right trail, it parallels the grass road for the first part of the hike as it makes its descent to the creek below. Most of the other faint trails are perpendicular to the road. Also, if you miss this entrance & keep walking the grassy road you will come to a field, which means you've gone about 120 yards too far. *** WARNING: DO NOT ATTEMPT TO HIKE THIS TRAIL ALONE!!! *** ~~~ UPPER SARAH'S CREEK FALLS If you indeed find the correct trail, about halfway down the trail you will see the upper falls over the ridge on your left. At this point, the pink ribbons lead you left towards the upper falls and orange ribbons lead you down to the lower falls. We tried hiking to the upper falls, but there were a great many obstacles along the way. We didn't make it. The upper falls seem to be in two sections. One long drop where the creek disappears and then re-emerges through a narrow flume-like waterfall. LOWER SARAH'S CREEK FALLS Continue past the split in the trail (it will not be obvious) and follow the ridge on its right side as closely as possible. You will begin to hear the roar of the lower falls and soon see the crest through the trees. You will lose the trail near the point you can see the falls, but continue downhill away from the falls until you find the safest route to the creek. We spotted orange ribbons on two trees leading to the creek. Except for the split from the pink ribbons, this was the only other set of orange ribbons we found. Once you reach the river, you must creekwalk your way left to the falls. I did not find the rocks to be slippery in the creek, however, the yellowish colored slab to the left of the lower falls put me on my butt. That sucker was like oil, so be careful! ~~~ [ THINGS TO KNOW ] Hiking Distance: 1.5 miles (roundtrip) Difficulty: Moderate (I do not recommended for inexperienced hikers) Creek Crossings: YES (directly though Sarah's Creek) Elevation Gain: 412 feet Upper Waterfall Height: Approx 200 feet Lower Waterfall Height: Approx 50 feet Access to top of falls: NO Access to base of falls: YES Pool of water @ base of Falls: YES Sitting areas @ base: YES RESTROOMS: NO PARKING: YES (4+ cars) ~~~ [ FINAL THOUGHTS ] The upper falls are HUGE, but it was nearly impossible to reach with all the downed trees. Lower falls are not as big but still VERY, VERY, VERY IMPRESSIVE. Satellite images show another waterfall about 500 feet downstream from the lower falls. I plan to venture back here to see if I can find it and attempt the upper falls one more time with a machete. Google Earth has increased my adventuresome spirit, because satellite images show me what is out there... it's just a matter of finding my way to it! PLEASE, I can't stress it enough because of the remote off-trail nature of this hike: DO NOT ATTEMPT TO HIKE THIS TRAIL ALONE OR WITH CHILDREN!!! It is not a well-marked trail and has the potential of getting you lost. Plus, if you injure yourself help might not come for days since this trail is not popular! A smart idea might be to bring chalk of you own color choosing to mark trees to help you and a partner find your way back. 2020 / 18

As Richard Mentioned in his review, this probably isn't a trail you want to tackle alone. In fact…read moremore than once we got ourselves turned around and placed on a different trail before we realized our error. Lots of back tracking later and we finally found the trail to Sarah's Creek Falls. Before getting to the falls themselves, how do you get to the trail?? By car you're basically getting on Sarah's creek road. Stay on Sarah's creek road until a natural fork in the road is reached. From here take the left fork and follow a dirt road that comes up on your left. The actual parking area for Sarah's creek is basically a clearing that is blocked off by a Road closed gate. This made me concerned about leaving my car, but ultimately it's where you'll leave yours for this hike. From that above paragraph, let's just be clear that the falls trail is a challenge to find, and can also be a challenge to navigate, even to the trail itself. You'll want to walk past the road closed sign and follow the natural curve around. Here's the issue...you will see many smaller trails that look legit, but actually are not. IGNORE these trails (we did not, which added several minutes and steps to our hike). You're going to be looking for a couple of pink ribbons that denote the entrance to the trail to the right. Descend down the trail and follow these pink ribbons that frame the trail along the way. Some of the ribbons have fallen off the tree (we tied them back on as best we could) but they do an okay of taking you where you need to go. I say okay job because the ribbons become very sparse at the Lower Sarah's creek fall trail. This is concerning because you reach the Upper Sarah's creek fall trail first on the left. This is marked great, but there was also lots of path blockers including downed trees and heavy overgrowth. Am I saying this trail is impassable? With effort it may be, but we decided to back track out of there and continue down to the other trail. Going further down to the Lower creek trail, again, the blaze ribbons become sparse, and you really just have to follow your ears. A final ribbon leads to a flowing but shallow creek. Walk through this towards the left carefully, until you're standing directly in front of the Lower falls, which are gorgeous and have a height of approximately 50 feet, flowing into a pool. Be careful because the rocks are slippery but the trail was worth it going down. Going back up the trail and to those initial pink ribbons that showed the entrance to the trail was tough. It was straight up, and in this 1.5 mile in and out trail, the out part will set your thighs on fire. We made it out, and as a bonus tip, don't just go back to your car at the trail entrance, hang a right and walk towards the Grassy knoll to your left. Hear that sound? You can actually see the top of the Upper falls taking a small trail down from that grassy knoll. that gives you a frame of reference of how big the falls are...or basically it's roughly a 200 foot drop. Too bad the upper falls trail was blocked to us! Again guys, this is not a state park and not a well marked or traveled trail. Don't do the hike alone! Going down is no problem at all but coming up is going to work you, so keep that in mind also. Notice as well that while I mentioned the beauty of the falls, I mentioned nothing about the trail it self. Why? It's not a pretty hike, it's overgrown and you're just looking at branches and dirt road. Beautiful falls, overgrown, isolated trails that aren't pretty and are tough getting out of. Worth it? Oh yea!

my kids had a blast! definitely would do again! shout out to Meagan she was amazing and great with…read morethe kids!

Love the mountain coaster great views and very fun recommended for family's bye bye guysread more

Venue Smithgall Woods State Park ( Smithgall Cottages) 5 out of 5 stars…read more After copious amounts of research and several venue tours, we decided on Smithgall Woods state park, and more specifically the cottages as the venue for our wedding on June 8th. We just have to say we loved the team we worked with at Smithgall, mainly Todd, Patty, and Art. Todd at Guestservices was simply fantastic! As he will be quick to mention "the venue sells itself", however having him as our man on the inside was a pretty huge selling point on its own. He was with us every step of the way to answer our plethora of questions, work with vendors, and generally keep our minds at ease. Honestly, I doubt the wedding weekend would have gone as smoothly and been as much of a success had it not been for Todd's guidance and cooperation. The venue is magical. I know how that sounds, but it's the truth. It's tucked away deep in the beautiful North Georgia mountains, surrounded by a lush forest teaming with wildlife. This majestic property consists of five "cottages", in quotations because they are more like log cabin style mansions. The two largest being; the expansive 4 bedroom 4.5 bathroom cottage called the Smithgall Cottage, and the even larger 5 bedroom 5 bathroom Dover cottage. The Creekside Cottage is 3 bedrooms, and The Laurel and Garden cottages are one bedroom cottages with hot tubs on secluded side porches. All the cottages were clean, modern, and a huge hit with our guests. We were able to house both our families, close friends and wedding party all on the same property. Which saved us a great deal on lodging. Which after factoring in the cost of rooms made this one of the more affordable wedding venues out there. Also you get it for the whole weekend!!! We used the Smithgall Cottage for our wedding location due to the large wrap around porch and decks, and also due to the picturesque, covered foot bridge under which flows a gorgeous champion trout stream. We had some difficulty deciding where on this property to hold our ceremony because it is simply lovely all over. Unfortunately, the record rainfall that weekend made the decision for us. Even though the storms limited our use of the enormous field in front of the Dover cottage, and the gardens next to Smithgall we still were able to comfortably host our 50 or so guests and dozen vendors, at the Smithgall Cottage and our ceremony and reception went along wonderfully. We would highly recommend this venue to anyone wishing to have a once in a lifetime event at a once in a lifetime location.

I came here to see the covered bridge, but discovered they have so much more…read more THE SCENE Smithgall Woods may not be someplace Georgians are familiar with, unless you are an avid hunter or trout fisherman. It was once private property that was gifted to the state by conservationist Charles A. Smithgall Jr. in 1994. A large section still remains private property for the Smithgall family, but what was gifted is a treasure trove of beautiful mountains, streams, meadow fields and wetlands. I began my solo hike around 12:15pm from the Visitors Center. There I was given a map and a few brief highlights of points of interest, like the waterfalls and gold mine. I then set off one what turned out to be a 4.5 hour adventure. Probably not the smartest of ideas since I had surgery just three weeks ago. But I was tired of resting around the house and desperately wanted to get out and do something. Besides, nature brings a calmness to my inner being and allows me to relax my mind in ways I just can't at home. It was a perfect day with perfect temperatures for hiking. In my entire time there, I only ran across one other human. ----- THE HIKE Inside the Visitor's Center is a gift shop and small wildlife museum of the nature plants and animals. I walked down the paved Tsalaki Trail towards the Cathy Ellis Trail (approximately 2.6 mile away). The trail starts off as a fairly steep incline. Along the way I saw a sign saying "caution - bees". I thought that was a curious warning until I noticed the white honey bee houses in the woods nearby. Next came the wetlands with a one mile looping trail and a boardwalk into the marshes. Here you have a strong possibility of seeing a beaver at work on a dam. I decided to save this area for my return hike and I'm glad I did. My energy on the return leg was running very low and I needed the benches here for a nice long rest. I reached the covered bridge about 37 minutes after leaving the visitors center. It was a real beauty made in the simple Town Lattice style. The memorial plaque at the entrance was titled "Bay's Bridge In loving memory of 'Bay' Elizabeth Smithgall Watts", whom died the year the land for the state park was gifted. It crosses the amazing mountain stream known as Duke's Creek. The creek from here will be a large part of your journey. The trail turns to gravel just past the bridge. MARTIN'S MINE was one of the first Gold mines in Georgia. Most of the mining occurred from 1829 to 1935. By the 1840's most of the easy gold was gone and hard mining began. Miners dug tunnels and shafts to remove ore from deep underground. You can still see some of the entrances and shafts. The trail is well marked with numbers, so be sure to pick up the Mining Trail brochure at the Visitor's Center to help you decode the locations. There is a spur trail off the Martin's Mine loop that takes you to a waterfall used for hydraulic mining, which began in the 1850's. It is an uphill hike, but the waterfall is very nice. Back on the main trail I traveled another 1/2 mile to Cathy Ellis Trail. This 1/2 mile trail starts off uphill, but once you reach the shelter it's all downhill from there. The trail ends at the beautiful Chunannee waterfall (which means friendship). Lots of vegetation on this portion of the hike. This land was once the home of Lucy Bryant, a Cherokee Indian widow whom was granted this 640 acre parcel in the Treaty of 1817. But by 1839 the Trail of Tear forced all Cherokee Indians off their land to relocate in Oklahoma. They curiously chose to name the trail after a 19 year old girl who fell over a waterfall in a different county altogether instead of the Indian widow Lucy. I don't get that, but whatever. The waterfall here is beautiful. I sat here about 25 minutes resting and admiring its beauty and feeling sad for the ancient Cherokee Indian nation. I arrived here approx. 2.5 hours after I began my journey from the visitors center. NOTE: Prior to arriving at the Cathy Ellis trail there is another steep incline, similar to the one near the Visitor's Center. ----- FINAL THOUGHTS In total I hiked approximately 7.5 miles today. I would normally have done this in probably 3 hours, but I tried to go at an easier pace since I'm still recovering from surgery. I allowed myself plenty of places to sit and rest, the most enjoyable of them being the waterfall on the Cathy Ellis Trail. Smithgall Woods State Park is indeed a wonderful place for those who love nature and peaceful hiking venues. I HIGHLY RECOMMEND giving them a visit.

These falls are gorgeous. But they you will need an suv to ford the river on sandy ford road to get…read moreto trailhead. Currently the bridge to dicks creek is out and you have to either walk on stopping stones, walk on a tree log across or get in the water. All options are worth it as you will love seeing these falls and sitting ththere for hours. So plan ahead and u won't be ddisappointed

There are two things about Georgia that make me scratch my head. One would be some of the old laws…read morethat are still on the books here, such as: 1) It is illegal to keep a donkey in a bathtub. 2) No one may carry an ice cream cone in their back pocket on a Sunday. 3) In Atlanta, it is against the law to tie a giraffe to a telephone pole or street lamp. WHAT'S IN A NAME? The other thing that makes me scratch my head is how notorious Georgia is for having several places with the same name. Metro Atlanta has over 200 streets with the name Peachtree. Also, if you are looking at a map leading to THIS waterfall, you will notice a town by the name of Pine Mountain in the upper right corner of the state. However, there is also a town by the same name one hour south of Atlanta. Similarly, there are two Dick's Creek (as if one weren't enough) and both have waterfalls bearing their name. The other is "smaller", located about 55 miles east of these falls and is a gorgeous 20-foot multi-tiered waterfall with a swimming hole at the base of the final drop. It is (in my opinion) one of the best-looking waterfalls in Georgia and no hiking required to reach it. You can practically park on the upper tier and find your way down to the swimming hole below. A small waterfall that proves its how you use it that counts. THE HIKE THIS Dick's Creek Falls (located in Rabun County) is much taller @ 60' and looks like a giant Slip n' Slide. To get to the waterfall you must travel Sandy Ford Road until it intersects with the Bartram Trail. Follow the trail north until you cross Dick's Creek. Turn right after crossing the first foot bridge and when you see a second foot bridge on your right, cross it also and continue to follow the trail straight. There will be a small opening on the right side of the trail that leads you to the top of the falls. The vantage point here will allow you to see upstream of the Chattooga River. Continue a few hundred feet down the trail to find an opening that leads you into the Chattooga River. I did not find a direct trail to the base of the falls, but from this opening expect to get your feet wet! You must get wet IF you want a great photo of the falls. But don't fret, the view downstream and upstream on the river is actually more beautiful than the waterfall itself. The river bends and cascades 100 yards from the base of the falls and creates a very unique photo opportunity. The Chattooga River was not deep or raging the day I visited, so the current was mild. It only came as high as my thigh as I crossed over the weirdly hairy stones and a sandy bottom, which I suppose is where Sandy Ford Road gets its name. Upstream I could see kayakers approaching and on the dry boulders near the rivers bend there were sunbathers. The most attractive thing about Dick's Creek Falls is the area surrounding the falls is simply one of the best looking of any of the waterfalls I've been to in the state. Picturesque is the only world that comes to mind. NOTES: While driving to the trailhead, if you stay on Sandy Ford Road past the trail entrance it will lead to a beach-like area off the Chattooga River. This area is downstream of the falls. Also, there are only three places a vehicle could park comfortably near the trailhead. [ DIRECTIONS ] From US-23 (Hwy 441) in Clayton, Georgia travel east on Rickman Road. In 1/2 a mile it will merge into Warwoman Road. 5.3 miles from here make a slight right onto Sandy Ford Road. Stay right and follow it down to the small concrete bridge over Warwoman Creek. Stay on this road approximately 3.2 miles to the Bartram Trailhead (you will see wooden signs). Follow the trailhead to the left of the road as you drove in. The trail to the right will take you back to Warwoman Dell and NOT towards the falls. Once on the trail, make a sharp right after you cross the first foot bridge then another right when you see a second footbridge and follow the sounds of rushing water. Overall trail is about 1.2 miles round trip and not very steep. FINAL THOUGHTS A beautiful waterfall and a even more beautiful natural area to bring the family on a hike (and play in the water). Just know there is no easy way to get a full and unobstructed photo of the falls without walking out into the Chattooga River. I did see what seemed to be an unsanctioned side trail to the base, but it was steep and didn't at all look safe. Another option would be to bring your own kayak and launch from further upstream. Here also is a link to the OTHER Dick's Creek Falls just in case you have a little more adventure in you after your visit: https://www.yelp.com/biz/dicks-creek-falls-cleveland?osq=Dick%27s+Creek+Falls 2018/56

What an amazing day!!!! The whole crew with this outfit were great to be around. Robert was our…read moreraft guide and was a blast to go with. This was definitely the best rafting experience I've been on - gorgeous location, super fun river, and best crew ever!

Did 2 rafting trips with this company and I enjoyed both. Definitely recommend. The process was…read moreseamless, guides are super dope and I felt super safe. Don't be fooled you can touch the bottom if you get out raft, some areas are so deep you won't stand is the only PSA so no fooling around SAFETY FIRST.