Panther Creek Trailhead — Attraction in Toccoa

This is an exciting trail to visit. The scenery is, without question, breathtaking. If you're a nature photography/videography nerd, this is heaven.

If you are inexperienced, have trouble walking and plan on coming alone, don't. If you are a helicopter parent, this is not a trail for you. This is definitely a buddy-system trail. There are places where you can fall forty feet down a steep slope, and nobody is going to notice you if you're out cold. Travel this trail only in the company of others. That said, you're likely to find friendly fellow travelers on this trail. We're all here to experience this fantastic space.

Bring the right gear. If you don't know what to bring, go with a friend who does know, and have your friend check your gear before you start.

For instance, there is no bathroom facility at the trail head. (At least there wasn't when I went.) There is no bathroom facility at the falls or anywhere along the way. That's at least three to five hours without facilities. There is also almost no privacy along most of the path. If you didn't pack the right gear or you have to have a bathroom facility, this is not the trail for you.

There is no cell service for most of the trail, however GPS works fine. If you want a google map, download a cache of the area to your phone on google maps prior to your visit while you're still in the vicinity of cell or wifi service.

It's not a long trail, maybe less than three miles from the trail head to the falls, but there are countless roots, rocks, brambles, bridges and other obstacles of interest that add spice to your walk and will absolutely slow your progress. That said, there are some priceless views. So you want to take photos of that elusive Blue Heron? Now your in the time-suck zone! The journey is worth your while if you prepare and take your time. Just be sure to be out by dark.

There is a parking fee that must be paid at the trial head. Read the signs, pay the parking fee, and don't get ticketed. You can't use your prepaid state park pass, even if you have one. It requires a different park system pass -- sorry I cannot remember what it is. I'll edit my review when I go back. Get there early in the morning on weekends because parking fills up fast.

This trail has a lot of traffic. Some groups move faster than others. There are places along the trail where there is only room for one person at a time. If you're taking your time and there's not much room, next time you see a safe spot, make way for faster foot traffic.

Don't attempt this trail in the dark. Unless you have the correct gear, don't try this trail in icy conditions. There are areas where the guard rails have fallen due to erosion.

I would give this trial five stars, but the heavy traffic, difficulty finding parking after 10am and sad state of various safety guard rails removes at least one star. Also, there used to be bathrooms, but they probably had to remove them due to federal cutbacks, thus only...

I hiked this trail when I was a kid going to school up here in north Georgia. It's one of the most beautiful areas that I know. But yesterday, all these years later, note I am in very good shape, I run, swim, lift weights, and road bike weekly

This trail kicked my butt. It's not for everyone. I totally disagree that children can do this one. Anybody under 10 should not attempt unless very experienced. I saw little kids yesterday and was worried for them as there are many treacherous parts, some where you literally have to rock climb others where fallen trees have made it difficult to pass. The trail has what I call a lot of tow grabbers, little stumps, and rocks easily tripping, especially kids who could fall off the side 100 feet down to their death.

That's why I give it a 3. It's misrated, and by the way, it's 8 miless round-trip, I had several peoplewith me and we all clocked it, and it was all over 8 miles around trip not 7 that is written on the sign.

Then, to build the new bridges, they cleared a path with a bulldozer on the other side of the river and really destroyed the original trail. It looks really ugly right now.

Is it nice and fun and beautiful? Yeah, it's all those things. Panther Creek is gorgeous.

Lastly, pack a lot of water, food, protein bars, you're going to need the energy. I burned over 2500 Calories on a 3 1/2 hour hike, wear ankle protected boots. There are a lot of opportunities with those roots and rocks in the ground to twist an ankle. So, use ankle high...

A friend and I hiked the Panther Creek Trail and it was quite a hike. We started at the Western trail and moved east towards the waterfall. Once we got to the waterfall, we continued moving East towards the other trailhead. The hike from the Western trailhead towards the waterfall was about two hours, and it wasn't the hardest trail we've done (see below), but it definitely is not easy either. If you're going for the first time, it seems like the path is a lot longer than it actually is. The waterfall is worth the hike though in my opinion.

The eastern trail which starts at the waterfall and continues east towards the eastern trailhead is a whole different story. This was the most difficult hike that I have been on in Georgia simply due to the fact that the trail was cluttered with fallen trees, bees, and changing terrain. At some points of the trail, you have to be extremely careful because any small misstep can cause you to loose your balance and fall down the side of the hill. In addition, when I went we had to crawl under or over some fallen trees at different points of the path which also made it challenging. At one point, we couldn't tell where the rest of the trail was (a huge hickory tree had fallen on the path right after we passed a small bridge so we had to get on the tree trunk and walk a tiny distance to find the path). If you want to have an adrenaline rush and go hike a difficult trail, then I would definitely recommend the Eastern Panther's...