When out-of-town guests visit we drive 70 minutes to see Tallulah Gorge, an amazing natural wonder in Georgia, so popular that in 1882, the Tallulah Falls Railway was built to bring visitors to hotels that once bordered the gorge. It was dubbed the “Grand Canyon of the East.” A tremendous volume of water raged through the 1000 foot deep canyon spilling over several spectacular waterfalls.
Then in 1913, the natural beauty of the roaring falls disappeared when the river was damned upstream by Georgia Power to create the first electric power generator in Georgia. It wasn’t until 1993 when Governor Zell Miller created the Tallulah Gorge State Park and dam releases enabled the Tallulah River to once again display some of its glory.
While everyday you can enjoy the falls, on certain weekends during the year the dam releases a much higher volume of water so visitors can get an idea of what this natural wonder was like in the the 1800s. Click below to see the website for dates, but the falls are fun to see anytime. During high-water releases no visitors can go down to the gorge floor to hike; viewing then is limited to the observation decks looking down into the gorge, or, you can descend 310 steps on a staircase to reach the suspension bridge spanning the river near Hurricane Falls. When water release is normal, you can cross the bridge and do another 221 steps down to the gorge floor, where you’ll be hiking on rock to rock along the river to where it gracefully flows over a slippery rock façade where you’ll watch kids, teens and brave parents slide down the rock on their butts to land into a calm pool. It’s the ultimate water slide! While anyone can reach the bridge, only 100 visitors daily are allowed to reach the gorge floor by asking for a permit at the visitor center. Floor visits aren’t allowed when rocks are slippery due to rain.
Going down the steps is easy, but coming up requires resting along the way. It’s 310 steps up from the bridge, or 531 steps from the gorge floor! Elderly or less ambitious visitors will still enjoy a trip here by sticking to the observation platforms and skipping stairs. Even from above, the views of the gorge and waterfalls is memorable.
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