My favorite hikes tend to involve waterfalls… not always, but mostly. Anyway, I’m not going to try to chronicle all of our waterfall hikes. So instead I’ll just post some of the highlights.

We are from Atlanta and so a day hike in the N. GA mountains is a pretty easy getaway.

Cloudland Canyon in the fall

Raven Cliff Falls Trail remains firmly among our favorite hikes in North Georgia and we’ve repeated a few times since the parking areas is located at the following coordinates and is easy to reach in a passenger car on a dry day via the Richard B Russell Scenic Highway : 34.709969,-83.788837.  The 5 mile round trip hike goes along Dodd’s Creek under a tall forest canopy with rhododendron and mountain laurel near the river.  It’s a relatively easy hike and ends at its namesake – Raven Cliff Falls – a creek that pours into a split in the granite rocks in dramatic fashion.  There are a few bonus falls on Dodd’s Creek throughout the trail the way to break up the hike.

Raven Cliff Falls

Occasionally we get a wild itch and spend a full weekend hiking. One of my particular favorites is Asheville… anything and everything around Asheville.  Our favorite hike in the Asheville area (generously) is Linville Falls in Linville, NC.  The parking areas is off of the Blue Ridge Parkway near Milepost 316.4.  There are two trails that depart from the visitor center, be sure to take the trail to the left – which starts slightly uphill and away from the river, but ultimately takes you down to to the bottom of the falls for the best views (see below).  Warning: It is a moderately difficult hike that requires scrambling over roots and rocks, but its worth it and very doable if you take your time.

Linville Falls, NC

DO:

Cloudland Canyon State Park Rising Fawn, GA

Raven Cliff Falls White County, GA

Linville Falls Linville, NC