What is it about falling water that is so inviting? Is it the sound? The colors? I certainly don’t know, but I have been chasing waterfalls for the better part of the past 15 years. I’ve visited many falls spanning several states and continue to expand my repertoire each year.
Spring is my favorite season to visit waterfalls. The heavy rains we often see with spring storm systems leads to high water in local streams and waterfalls. I’ve found most waterfalls to be at their best in times of heavy rain, though they can certainly be most treacherous at these times, too.
As I restart this column I mentioned I would be re-hashing some old ramblings. This is one of those weeks. I wrote the following article all the way back in 2015, but these three waterfalls still hold a special place in my heart. I’ve not had the chance to visit these much since I moved to North Carolina in the same year this post was written, but the directions and descriptions are still accurate and I’ve touched up my bland 2015 writing a bit. I hope to visit these and more over the coming months to re-take some photographs which I will be sure to share when I do get them.
Minnehaha Falls; Rabun County
The first, and my favorite local fall, is Minehaha Falls is located on the shores of Lake Rabun. I personally consider it the best waterfall in Rabun County, only beating out those of Tallulah Gorge because of it’s accessibility. It is a 100ft tall fall located in a dense rhododendron forest. when these rhododendron bloom in the spring you can see the white flowers adorning the sides of the falls. The trail is quite short (only around a 5 minute walk) but steep in a couple spots. It can be slick as well during particularly wet periods.
Directions: To get there, take 441 out of Clarkesville north to Old 441 just past Tallulah Gorge. Turn left onto old 441 and follow 2.5 miles to a left on Lake Rabun Road. Follow Lake Rabun Road for 6 miles to the Lake Seed Dam. Turn left and cross the dam, then turn left onto Bear Gap Road almost immediately. Follow Bear Gap Road for 1.5 miles and you will see a small parking area on the left with a sign on the right at the head of the trail.
This is an excellent fall to take in on a day trip to either Tallulah Gorge or Black Rock Mountain State Park.
Helton Creek Falls; Union County
Helton Creek Falls is actually 2 falls located just a few miles from Vogel State Park. This falls comes in 2 parts (lower and upper) and is a beautiful falls with good year-round flow. The trail to the falls is very short (only a couple hundred yards to the upper) and is not strenuous at all. The lower falls lacks a good viewing platform, however the upper falls has an excellent viewpoint from an observation deck. For those more adventurous, you can easily walk around the deck and get fairy close to the waterfall. Both falls have pools at the base which are accessible, but not deep enough for swimming.
Directions from Clarkesville: Take Highway 115 to Cleveland and turn left onto Highway 129 at the Cleveland square. Follow 129 past Turners Corner and over the top of Blood Mountain. Roughly 1.7 miles past the Wala-sy-i Center turn right onto Helton Creek Rd (there is a brown sign pointing towards the falls). Follow Helton Creek Road past the end of the pavement to the parking area on the right 2.3 miles from 129.
This is one of two waterfalls I have been able to see frozen, which is a fantastic sight to see.
I’ll be featuring more waterfalls over the coming weeks and months, so stay tuned.
See you on the trail…..~TW
