Raven Cliff Falls Georgia

6/23/18

Lisa, Ashley, Jolly and me.

The girls got in about 11 last night. They are in the middle of working their rotations and really don’t have that much free time so we let them sleep in just a little!  Lisa and I had a big day hiking so I was happy to sleep in. We got up slowly, then of course went hiking!

I made a plan to go to Raven Cliff Falls, Georgia. It was just outside of Helen, Ga which was an hour away. It is in the Chattahoochee National Forest.

The drive up there was on a twisty mountain road. Today I drove and Lisa got a little car sick.  I’m sure it was the winding road not my driving!  We get to a super busy trail head parking area. We go to the trail head and start our hike. We passed a couple of really nice campsites along the river.

Despite the parking lot being so crowded the trail did not feel like it was crowded. This is a 5 mile round trip pretty easy trail until the very end where the falls is.   It follows the Dodd river over a couple a bridges and a little ups and downs.

The trail is shady and pretty. Some areas are high above the river. When we get to the end of the trail there some people sitting on some rocks we cannot see or hear the falls.  It is actually up a steep climb and its in between two large rocks.

Lisa of course sees a giant hill and up she goes! I follow her up and Ashley and Jolly come along after.  This pic is from the climb up to the falls and down to the view.

That was the way to go. It was pretty steep. But at the top were two giant rock walls with a split in the middle where the Falls comes down. There are other people up there. I climbed down into a pool of water below the Falls. Lisa and I get right in the water and of course, she proceeds to climb up this Falls. There is a down tree submerged at the base that works as a step up! As usual I’m a little chicken to go up there. Here comes Ashley. She is ready to climb up there too. Next Jolly jumps right in and climbs up on the rocks. Now it’s my turn. After they all did it I had to climb it.  I didn’t climb as far as they did.  I am not sure why I’m such a chicken.  I love the water.  This time I even step I the submerged tree like they did!  Of course I did have my hiking shoes on!

When we got up here no one was in the water. Now there are other people waiting to get in there!

There was a little cave area behind us.  Lisa said go over there and I’ll get a pic.  Nope.  that looked like the perfect hideout for bugs, snakes, etc.  I cannot believe how girly I can be!  I don’t know if I was expecting something to jump out at me or what.

There are a couple of guys who are climbing up above the Falls. It’s super steep. Guess? Yep off she goes! We just hang out and watch for her. She peaks over the edge of the first rock.  I zoomed this photo some because in reality it was so high.  It was basically level with the top of the falls.

Then I see another guy peering over the next rock. I just know she is going that way and I have a tiny anxiety attack. What if?? Scary!  We read that someone was killed at Rainbow falls in NC yesterday so I think my anxiety came from that.   She is coming down ! Unbelievable! She said it was extremely steep so she turned around! Yay!

I think the girls really enjoyed this hike with us.  Waterfall hunting is so much fun.  Especially when you get to get in it!  We have a couple more to do this weekend so we head back down to the trail and to the car.   Next stop Amicalola Falls.