Tallulah Gorge

State park holds one of Georgia’s natural wonders

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“Oh wow.” That’s what you’ll hear over and over as people gaze down into Tallulah Gorge from one of its overlooks.

The gorge, carved 1,000 feet deep in some places through rugged quartzite eras ago, is sometimes described as one of Georgia’s seven wonders.

This quiet part of northeast Georgia became the talk of the country in 1970 when Karl Wallenda walked across it on a cable stretched from one side to the other. Visitors can still see the towers that anchored the cable.

Managed through an agreement with Georgia Power and Georgia State Parks since 1993, Tallulah Gorge State Park draws almost 900,000 visitors a year.

Trails

There are five waterfalls in the gorge.

“You can see all of them from the North Rim Trail, but there’s a better view of some of them from the South Rim Trail,” Park Manager Lieren Forbes says.

The North and South Rim Trails skirt the edge of the gorge and are moderate with slight inclines. Together they make a round trip of 3 miles.

Dogs are allowed on the rim trails. A short, more accessible trail leads from the Jane Hurt Yarn Interpretive Center, consisting of recycled rubber. It goes to Overlooks 2 and 3, just 100 yards, from which you can see L’Eau D’or (pronounced La-dore) Falls and Tempesta Falls.

At Overlook 2, a 310-step staircase leads down to a 200-foot-long suspension bridge from which you can view Hurricane Falls. There are no shortcuts though; you’ll have to go back up those stairs.

An old railway bed, called the Bill and Dustie MacKay Trail, is also an accessible trail. It is three miles long, considered easy and can be biked or skated, as well as hiked.

While the park is famous for its breathtaking views, it’s also known for its breathtaking staircase.

Hurricane Falls Loop Trail is 2 miles long and includes 1,099 steps down to the gorge floor. Pets are not allowed on that trail.

The Gorge Floor Trail requires a free permit available at the interpretive center. Access to the floor (at the bottom of that staircase) is limited to 100 a day. Once there, you can refresh yourself on Sliding Rock.

“It’s basically a natural waterfall that you can slide down,” Forbes says. “People that get to the top of waterfall can slide down into the pool at the bottom.”

She warns that the pool is surrounded by rock and care should be taken climbing out of the pool. From the pool, the only way out is that thousand steps up.

Other trails, including the High Bluff and the Stoneplace are open to mountain biking. The park also allows rock climbing, with a permit and it has 52 tent, trailer and RV camp sites.

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Tallulah Gorge

Georgia State Parks photo

Tallulah Gorge

The endangered Persistent Trillium only grows within a 5-mile radius of Tallulah Gorge.

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Tallulah Gorge

Georgia State Parks photo

Tallulah Gorge

The rare Monkeyface Orchid, also known as the White Fringeless Orchid, makes its home in the gorge.

Unusual ecosystem

Georgia has more species of trillium than any other state, and the Persistent Trillium, considered rare and endangered, only grows within a 5-mile radius of the gorge.

“We happen to have just the right habitat,” says Forbes. “The biggest thing that makes it different is when the flower dies, the leaves remain until October. It goes from white to pink. Some in the patch are still white.”

Another rarity found at Tallulah Gorge is the Monkeyface Orchid, also called the White Fringeless Orchid. Protection for it under the Endangered Species Act was added in 2016. 

It blooms from July through September, but it grows in remote, steep parts of the park, so you may not get to see its tiny blossoms. Forbes says that’s probably helped it survive.

The sheer cliffs of the gorge provide a predator-safe habitat for nesting birds. In previous years, a pair of peregrine falcons have chosen it but for the past two years, a pair of ravens, rare for Georgia, have built their nest.

The two types of birds don’t co-exist, so when one is present, the other isn’t.

The Tallulah River carved the ravine and now drops gently down into the gorge—except for a few special weekends a year, when, in a unique arrangement, Georgia Power releases it to roar through the gorge to the delight of whitewater kayakers.

A phenomenal run

So many arrive for the adventure that the park has to stagger their entry on to the river.

Normally, the water that flows through the gorge is about 35 to 40 feet per cubic second (CFS). Most weekends in April, May, September and Wednesdays and Fridays in October, the water flow is increased to 200 CFS for what is called aesthetic releases. Rock climbing is not allowed at that time and there are no permits for the gorge floor.

But two weekends during April and three weekends in November, the river demonstrates its ancient force. Saturdays, the water is 500 CFS, and Sundays it is 700.

Jesse Steele, of Sautee Nacoochee, is an avid whitewater enthusiast. He’s tested his skills against rivers in in the western states, Alaska and Central America. Tallulah Gorge is just a half hour from his home.

“I felt very proud to have such a whitewater gem in my backyard,” he says. “I felt like it was my duty to run it because of my connection to the area.”

He was among the first group to carry their boats down 600 steps to access the river in 1997 when the releases began.

“The whitewater is around a mile and a quarter long. Depending on how you categorize it, it’s got 14 to 18 rapids including two big ones, like Oceana Falls that is 55 vertical feet, 85 linear feet of rock,” he adds, explaining that most people categorize it as a Class 4 river.

“It’s a phenomenal run and among my favorites.”

Georgia Power manages the water releases and organizes volunteers to assist the boaters and direct traffic on the stairs.

History

People have been visiting this area for hundreds of years. By 1836, nearby Clarkesville’s hotels were welcoming them. In 1882, the railroad began bringing tourists and the town of Tallulah Falls built up to serve them. Some 20 hotels, boarding houses and cottages were there by the turn of the century. The little town became a destination, especially for honeymoons, and many firstborn girls were named Tallulah. According to the display at the park’s interpretive center, the great-grandmother of Tallulah Bankhead was one of them.

In 1886, a man named J.A. St. John, who went by “Professor Leon,” was paid $1,000 to walk across the gorge. He had to buy his own rope and what little safety equipment he had. The crowd that watched it was estimated at 6,000. Almost a century later, when 65-year-old Wallenda repeated the feat and did head stands on the cable, the crowd was estimated at 35,000.

In the first decade of the 1900s, the Georgia Power and Railway Company began working to dam the river to create electricity. Many locals were not happy about the plan, including Helen Dortch Longstreet, the widow of Confederate General James Longstreet.

Tallulah Gorge State Park wasn’t created until the mid 1990s, but as early as 1905, there was talk in Georgia’s state legislature about creating a park there.

“A good part of that was Mrs. Longstreet,” Forbes says. “She fought (what is now) Georgia Power tooth and nail to stop the dam going in. She wanted it to become a park instead of being bent to the will of man.”

Longstreet’s efforts are thought to be one of Georgia’s earliest conservation movements. Her advocacy resulted in a lawsuit against the power company, but it was ultimately unsuccessful.

In the 1990s, Georgia Power applied to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission to renew its permit for the hydropower project. When the negotiations were finished, the power company and the state of Georgia agreed to lease the land for the park to the state, and to a set number of aesthetic and whitewater releases, adding to the popularity of the park. 

If you go:

Check the park’s website. Park Manager Lieren Forbes says some weekends it fills to capacity, and they put that information on the site. gastateparks.org/tallulahgorge.

Places to eat in nearby Tallulah Falls are limited. The bustling small towns of Clayton and Clarkesville are just 20 minutes away and each have both fast food and finer dining. The park offers some camping, and other campgrounds are nearby.