Lake Rabun Waterfalls

It was getting around lunch time, so we stopped for fast food in Walhalla. When we finished lunch, we got on US-76 and followed that into Georgia as we crossed the Chattooga River. In Clayton, we followed US-441 south to Lake Rabun and got on Lake Rabun Road to our first waterfall in Georgia - Angel Falls in the Lake Rabun Beach Recreation Area in Chattahoochee National Forest. This camping and recreation area was closed, so we parked at the Angel Falls Trailhead, just up the road from campground 2. The trail lead through a wooded area to the back of the campground and then headed up following Joe Creek. Right at the campground, we could see the First Waterfall on Joe Creek from a footbridge.

This one is a small, 15-foot stairstep waterfall, and was our first Georgia waterfall of the trip. From here, we followed the Angel Falls Trail upstream. Near the start of the trail, we saw a figure of a person made of stones surrounding a tree stump.

In about a half-mile, we reached Panther Falls, a larger tiered waterfall along Joe Creek.

From this point, the trail became much steeper, heading up past Panther Falls via switchbacks to another waterfall, Middle Falls on Joe Creek, above Panther Falls.

Finally, after a little over a mile, we got to the top of the trail, where a wooden platform provided opportunities to view Angel Falls. Despite it still being winter and there being little foliage, Angel Falls was difficult to view.

A thick canopy of rhododendron almost completely blocked our view and a downed tree further blocked the falls. We could tell it would be a nice waterfall if only we could actually see it.

We tried from different vantage points, but really couldn’t get much of a view, so we headed back to the car. Our next waterfall was only a short ways away. We continued on Lake Rabun Road to the Lake Seed Dam and crossed to get on Bear Gap Road. After about 1.5 miles, we pulled over to park at the trailhead for Minnehaha Falls. The trail to the falls is short, less than a half-mile, but steep. But the rewards were well worth it. This waterfall was very scenic and there was no foliage blocking our views.

We spent about 10 minutes here, enjoying the falls and taking pictures, having the falls to ourselves.

As we were getting ready to go, another couple arrived, with the man giving the young lady a piggyback ride. The trail was muddy and I guess she didn’t want to get her shoes dirty. So, we left and let them have the falls to themselves. Back at the car, we made our way to Helen and checked in to our hotel - Riverbend Motel & Cabins. After getting checked in, we strolled around the cute Alpine village and had dinner at Cowboys & Angels. After dinner, we were tired and went to bed early.