Blue Hole and High Shoals Creek Falls
Hiawassee, Georgia
Details
Distance
2.45 miles
Elevation Gain
479 ft
Route Type
Out-and-Back
Description
Added by Tiffany Lachner
Shoal Falls is a beautiful waterfall in Chattahoochee National Forest with a swimming hole where you can go under the waterfall. Dogs are allowed on this hike.
Located just a few miles north of Helen, Georgia is this hidden gem. The road that leads up to the starting point of the hike is a bit tricky to find so make sure you have your GPS to help a little, its a gravel road that winds up the mountain for a about a mile.
The dirt trail winds down through the thick forest for a little while, the views are stunning as the light shines through just parts of the trees and the tree roots cover parts of the path way making it a place for cool pictures. Once you get down to the bottom of the dirt path, theres a campground and if you keep walking along the trail there is another trail that leads off to the left. The first path thats leading off to the left takes you to Blue Hole falls, about a mile from the starting point of the trail, and it doesn't take you long at all to get there from the point where the paths split. Blue Hole Falls is the first waterfall along the trail, the water is amazingly clear and during the warm months its a great place for people to come and swim.
If you keep walking along the main trail, you'll get to the other trail that leads you down to High Shoals Falls. This is a little farther walk than the walk to Blue Hole Falls but it is completely worth it. High Shoals Falls is a much larger water fall cascading down large rocks. This too is an area for people to swim and climb on the rocks, sitting under the freezing cold waters during the warm months.
This is a great trail for anyone! Dogs are allowed on this trail and if they love swimming in the water, this is a great place to bring them!
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Blue Hole and High Shoals Creek Falls Reviews
Overall, very fun trip that captures a lot of the beauty of GA. Took a 2 day trip to camp and hike. Wouldn't suggest spending more than 2 days here. The road there crosses a small creek and my Honda Civic barely made it across after it swelled from a short rainfall. I believe there are two roads to get there though if you don't feel like risking crossing the river :) . There are camp grounds near the beginning of the trail, but if I had do to it over again, I would definitely suggest hiking about 20 mns to the camp grounds closer to the falls. The falls: Blue Hole Falls is pretty cool, but High Shoals Falls definitely overshadows the two. Takes about 1 - 2 hours to hike to see both falls. You will hit Blue Hole first and then High Shoals further down. It is a moderate hike and hiking poles helped me a lot! Conclusion: Definitely worth visiting, especially since there relatively unknown and therefore you don't have to contend with a huge crowd. Went on a Thur/Fri and saw only a handful of people. Also, you could totally make this a day-trip if you started off early.
4.0
Beautiful area for people who love to hike and love swimming under waterfalls and climbing up them!
5.0
Leave No Trace
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