Lake Rabun Beach Recreation Area

Lake Rabun Beach Recreation Area is a forest recreation area in Chattahoochee National Forest on the lake in Rabun County.  Lake Rabun is a 835-acre lake created by the construction of Mathis Dam in the early 20th century for hydroelectric generation.  The recreation area consists of a beach area and 80-site campground with water activities and hiking trails.  A few scenic waterfalls are located on forest land around the lake.

Directions:

From Clayton, head south on US-23/US-441 for about 6 miles and turn right on Wiley Connector.  Make an immediate left on Old 411 and go 1.5 miles to a right turn on Lake Rabun Road.  Follow this for 5.3 miles with the beach access on the left and campground on the right.

Map:

Trails:

Angel Falls Trail (#55):

Angel Falls Trail leads from Loop 2 of the Campground and follows Joe Creek upstream, passing by several waterfalls.

Minnehaha Falls Trail (#147):

Minnehaha Falls Trail is a short trail from Bear Gap Road along Falls Branch to the waterfall.

Points of Interest:

Angel Falls:

Angel Falls is a 90-foot waterfall on Joe Creek, though there's no way to get a good view.

Joe Creek First Falls:

The First Falls on Joe Creek is near the start of Angel Falls Trail.  It's a 20-foot stairstep waterfall.

Joe Creek Middle Falls:

Middle Falls on Joe Creek is just upstream of Panther Falls.

Minnehaha Falls:

Minnehaha Falls is a beautiful waterfall on the south side of the lake.

Panther Falls:

Panther Falls is a scenic 50-foot waterfall on Joe Creek.

Wildlife:

Pearl oyster mushroom (Pleurotus ostreatus).

Blog Entries:

29-Dec-2021: Lake Rabun Waterfalls

23-Mar-2014: Lake Rabun Waterfalls

External Links:

US Forest Service website: https://www.fs.usda.gov/recarea/conf/recarea/?recid=10488