Conasauga Falls Trail — Attraction in Etowah

First… Yowsa., that hike back up?!... still trying to steady my breathing a few hours later.. Anyways. Long Review

The drive to the falls, if you’re not use to country roads, I can imagine it would seem a bit scary, but for adventurers, make sure you have a higher vehicle and take your time. (I was in a dodge durango and was fine) It’s easy enough for experienced back road drivers. It is a little bumpy, holes sporadically, even baby ravines, if you will, from rain going down the gravel/clay parts of the road. It is a thin road for one car but there are pull offs randomly, wouldn’t suggest trying to turn around there if you’re scared of these types of roads. There are one or two spots that you can turn around.

Parking was alright, if people park conservatively. It’ll take one bad park job to only allow maybe 3 vehicles.

The hike down is not that bad, not too crazy. Zig Zags down the side of the peak. There’s some roots and rocks and other things that you could trip over. It’ll get you to the falls much quicker, than just walking down. Just pay attention and watch where you walk. You’ll hear the falls before you see it. Such a beautiful sound.

A few trails taper off once you get down there that take you to parts of the falls. You can also climb over some trees and massive rocks to get further down on the main trail.

I was at one of these side trails to take a peak around before going down to the main falls.. took a seat on a dry rock in the middle of the water just to take it in and my son hollered at me. Snake. .. SNAKE. (My pops that lives here, had told me to be on the look out for these fellas.) That was it for me. Done. Didn’t even get a picture of the falls. Zoom. Be aware of your surroundings.

That hike back up. Let me tell you something .. I’m no means out of shape, my son and I do these adventures often. .. but Mannnn. I had never been more thankful for it to finally be over 15 minutes later. That is STEEP uphill battle. Those few trees in the middle of the pathway, make good for leaning posts, one hand on the tree and one on your knee. Phew.

All in all, what I seen was very very pretty. The hike down, the mini falls before the main falls. The drive there was my favorite, but I like those thrilling scary drives. The drive back I was even more thankful to not be walking back up the Zig-zag..

If youre looking for a easy peasy hike and drive to this off the beaten path waterfall.. this isn’t it. But it would be worth it if you tried. And keep this review in mind. Happy hiking and...

We were intrigued by the picture, so decided to give it a try. The road in is tough in a couple of spots, and almost impossible to turn around when you see the rough parts. Someone ahead of us today decided to do just that, but we soldiered on after they completed their ten point u-turn. I don't blame them for turning around, it's a tight road, and in two or three spots, some very large, tricky holes to get around. If you go, I suggest taking a vehicle that handles well off road, and high off the ground. Parking is limited, but it's not a very busy spot, so it wasn't too bad. The hike down isn't bad, but some folks leaving when we arrived warned us they saw a copperhead. We never encountered it, so we were grateful for that! The trail looks like it ends before you ever get to the falls, but you really just need to go over the tree, then over the rocks, and you're there. It's peaceful, and a nice little area, but the falls don't really seem to qualify as a waterfall. The picture makes them look bigger than they really are. It's really only a few feet that the water "falls". The hike back to the parking lot is mostly uphill, so you may want to bring water with you and take a break or two on the way back to your car. I would not advise bringing small children on this hike. There are parts of the path that are very narrow. The drive back down is almost as scary as the drive up to it, as you're seeing the huge holes in the road at a new angle. Overall, there are falls that are much prettier, and easier to get to. If the road were better, I'd give it a slightly higher rating just for the beauty of the hike itself, but the falls are actually kind of disappointing after all you do just to get to them. We won't be...

Read reviews ahead of time that said this hike would be "easy". I don't know who you super athletically gifted people are, but it was anything but easy for this slightly arthritic oversized gal. The drive to the trail was ROUGH. We were in a Jeep and it felt like we were off-roading. Parking was fine. Somehow there was a minivan there, it had to have bottomed out up the drive. There were no other cars in sight except for one sketchy couple pulled over to the side. It's so desolate and secluded there, it felt borderline unsafe. If a person falls or gets hurt on the trail and tries to yell for help, nobody is likely to hear you. The trail itself was well marked at the start. People said it was "short". I was expecting it to be. It absolutely wasn't. There were plenty of rocks, large tree roots, and a downed tree to cross over. Those were no problem on the way down the trail. The way back was a different story. Worst of all, we kept walking and walking and there was no waterfall. We stopped our feat well over a mile in, at a large downed tree. The only place to go from there was straight down. It was too steep and we didn't attempt it. That uphill return hike was the worst. I contemplated just taking up permanent residency in the woods, but finally (after several breaks to catch my breath and pretending a bear was chasing me to keep moving), we made it out. In a nutshell...difficult drive, difficult hike, not short, no waterfall or too steep to see, total...