Fall Branch Falls — Attraction in Talking Rock

A beautiful, peaceful bit of nature in north Georgia, these falls are a set of 3 small cascades a little east of the unincorporated town of Cherry Log. While still a relaxing experience, access to the falls is no longer the relatively easy walk over rough ground it was. Now, to access the falls, you must hike up a realigned portion of the Benton Mackaye Trail (the route currently shown on Google Maps is no longer accurate). Easy by hiking standards, it is nonetheless an actual half-mile hike to the observation platform below the falls, consisting of rough ground with large rocks, exposed roots, and stumps, with several switchbacks adding to the distance. An average person in an ok physical condition can make it without too much difficulty, but appropriate footwear is highly recommended--hiking shoes or even boots would be better than tennis shoes, and forget pumps or other fashionable footwear. Not only will they get damaged, but you would run the risk of a serious enough injury where you'd need help getting back, and it's a dead zone for cell phones. There are several small, basic benches along this portion of the trail for those who need extra rest.

Parking is merely an extra-wide area of the dirt & gravel road opposite the trail entrance. Also, this is the "great outdoors" -- there are no restrooms, so plan accordingly.

A new addition to the area are 7 privately-owned, rentable geodesic dome "cabins" on the east side of the creek near the falls. Situated on platforms built into the side of the creek's ravine opposite the trail, they appear to offer a nice view of the creek and falls if you can afford the rental fee. As they look so unnatural, they detract somewhat from the ambiance, so I can only give the falls...

I had an amazing day at this falls!! We followed Google maps directions all the way to the trail head. I did lose gps while we hiked. My estimation of the trail leading to the higher falls area was 0.75 miles, it is roughly 0.6 miles to the observation deck at the bottom of the falls hiking from the trail head to this great picture spot. There are 3 benches along the way. The bench #1 and #2 are very close in the beginning half of the trail area and #3 seemed about half way to the falls. The trail is uphill most of the way with some spots that level off there are a lot of roots, rocks and stumps to keep an eye out for while hiking. Toward the end there are a few stairs right before you turn to go to the observation deck/great photo spot. Lots of cool mushrooms along the way. The wet rocks are very slick, be very careful crossing the water. They are building yurts on the opposite side of the falls This could be a cool addition for travelers to rent and hang out. The water was very cold but felt great after the hike. We wore bathing suits and splashed around in the water!! There are about 3 areas where one can get into the water and take...

The parking is limited and some of it is a very muddy and unusable. If you come from ellijay gps will take up about 3.5 miles of dirt/gravel road. If you come from blue ridge it’s a much more paved drive. This hike is strenuous. Steep accent and lots odd roots, but only about a half mile. There is only one bench to stop and rest at all the way to the falls. It was quite popular/busy and several times had to stop to wait for another group to pass because the path is narrow in several spots. The falls were very crowded by noon. One side of the falls has signs for no trespassing everywhere as it belongs to the glamping sites so the available space is limited. You can get about ankle deep in the water but it’s quite cold. If you’re extra adventurous you can climb to the top of the fall but there is no marked trail from the starting point for this. Just more of a trail made from people grabbing trees and roots to get up there. My kids really enjoyed it but it’s the most crowded place I’ve been to so far as it’s the closest fall to blue ridge. Went on a Thursday...