Hike to Hurricane Falls, Tallulah Gorge SP
Tallulah Falls, Georgia
Details
Distance
1.85 miles
Elevation Gain
564 ft
Route Type
Loop
Description
Added by Matthew Koehnemann
This hike offers incredible views of beautiful waterfalls roaring through a 1,000ft deep gorge. The hike consists of a grouping of stairs that take you down to Hurricane Falls which is located at the bottom of the gorge. Half way to the bottom, the hike crosses the gorge on a suspension providing a different perspective.
The trail is located in Tallulah Gorge State Park which is about 1 ½ hours northeast of Atlanta, off of Highway 441. There is a $5 per car entry fee into the park and they prefer the use of cash. From there, follow the signs to the Jane Hurt Yarn Interpretive Center, where there is parking and plenty of good information about the park.
Behind the Interpretive Center, start out west on the North Rim trail, which takes you to several astonishing overlooks revealing the depths of the gorge with a view of one of the park's waterfalls (L’Eau d’Or Falls) that rush through the bottom.
To the backs of the visitors enjoying the view from the main overlook of the gorge and L’Eau d’Or Falls, there is a set of stairs; this is the trailhead for Hurricane Falls. There are 310 stairs from the trailhead to a suspension bridge that crosses the gorge about half way down. The suspension bridge offers a spectacular perspective of the gorge.
Once across the suspension bridge and on the southern side of the gorge, there are more stairs. The stairs that are to the right head up to the South Rim of the gorge, while the stairs to the left descend another 221 steps to a platform in front of Hurricane Falls. The view at the base of the falls is breathtaking…but not as breathtaking as the 500+ stairs you have to take back up to the North Rim! There are plenty of platforms to stop and rest along the descent and ascent if needed.
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Reviews
My kids love going here. We come here at least 4-5x year.
4.0
The whole gorge park is absolutely stunning - there are so many lookouts from both sides to take in the beauty! The hike down to these falls were a long string of stairs downward and a wobbly walk across a suspension bridge, but it is well worth it! The falls are beautiful and it's really cool to be right by the water and look upwards at the gorge! You can get a special permit to actually walk down in the water, but I declined this time around. Be prepared for sore calves and bring lots of water!
5.0
My wife and I were in the area for a week and decided to come check this place out without doing much research. Man were we pleasantly surprised! Many great waterfalls and overlooks, it seemed like we had more photo ops than space available on our memory cards! My favorite spot was the bridge, but our calves and thighs protested all the way down and all the way back up. It wasn't crowded when we visited, but we did go just after the state opened back up again from the Covid crisis. We did encounter two issues while at the park, the first of which is the only reason I could not rate this as 5 stars. The bathroom closed at 5 (which they actually locked them at 4:50) but the park closed at 9, and there were no porta-johns anywhere. This led to many people going in the woods, which is just a bad look for a state park as beautiful as this one. The second issue was minor- all signs that claimed the "depth" or "height" of the gorge at that point were incorrect. One was claiming 1000ft, yet just down the path a few hundred horizontal feet (with no change in height to the river below and minimal change in the path's altitude) it claimed 600ft. Same thing closer to the dam, there were signs practically next to one another that claimed differences in depth of over 200 feet. Just seemed like they guessed and didn't take actual measurements. I know its something minor, but its a state park so they should have the resources to obtain and post correct facts.
4.0
Soooo fun such a good hike. Lots of steps. Absolutely gorgeous. Definitely plan on making this a day trip.
4.0
We took the trail all the way down to the bottom of the falls(need a permit for this but it's easy and free to get). Adventurous hike, the falls were a big slide rock that you can slide all the way down and swim at the bottom! I would rate this hike as moderate, the only strenuous part was for 0.8miles on slide rock trail. Total hike on this trail is 3.4miles. They will give you thorough instructions for the trail.
5.0
Good place for an older Boy Scout group.
5.0
This hike is a must do for the suspension bridge and falls below. We also walked out to inspiration point prior to hiking down for a varied perspective. Furthermore, if you want a different experience, make sure to check in with the visitors center for a schedule of their full moon evening hikes down into the gorge!
4.0
My favorite GA state park. Nice museum great and clean hiking trails. Lots of STAIRS and amazing scenery and water falls
5.0
The gorge is a cool place, but if you were looking to be immersed in nature this is not the place. Also, to go all the way to the gorge floor you need to have a hiking permit, which is only given out to the first 100 people per day, so get there early. Found a quiet place on the backside of the southern rim trail to chill without going into an area requiring a permit. It's impossible to claim ignorance because there are so many warning signs. It won't be your typical backcountry adventure, but still a unique place to check out for a day.
3.0
This hike to Hurricane falls is one of the coolest you can do in Georgia. Between the suspension bridge and the deep gorge and its waterfalls, this truly is a unique hike. However, unless you have a permit to get all the way down to the floor of the gorge, you might be disappointed by the view of Hurricane falls. The observation platform is small and often times packed with people and you only get a side view of the falls, which is not quite as impressive as a frontal view from the gorge floor. Also, basically the entire trail is stairs so if you are looking for a bit more rugged wilderness trail, this is not it. The stairs are probably a good thing, considering the steepness of the ravine, but for a person who wants complete immersion in nature, this might not be your trail. The crowds do not help this matter either. Get there early! To leave on a positive note, one other good thing about this trail is that even though it is fairly short, it is a good workout and can easily be extended in length with a combination of the North and/or South rim trails.
4.0
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