Tallulah Gorge State Park

In the late 1800s Tallulah Falls was one of the South's premier tourist destinations, a mountain resort drawing crowds by rail to marvel at the waterfalls thundering through the gorge. Hotels lined the rim, and honeymooners and sightseers came to walk the overlooks and feel the spray.

That era ended when the river was dammed for hydroelectric power in the early 20th century, diverting most of the flow and stilling the falls. A famous local conservationist, Helen Dortch Longstreet, fought hard to stop the dam and lost, in one of the early battles between industry and wild rivers in the South. The falls fell quiet for decades, and only on scheduled water releases does the full river surge back through the canyon today.

Rim trails run along both the north and south walls of the gorge, linking overlooks that gaze across and down into the canyon at the string of waterfalls below. From these points the scale of the place sinks in: sheer rock walls dropping hundreds of feet to the river, with the falls stepping down the gorge floor.

For those who want to go deeper, long staircases descend toward the river, and a suspension bridge crosses high above the water, swaying gently as hikers pass. With a permit, experienced hikers can take a rugged route across the gorge floor, scrambling over boulders and slick rock to reach the base of the falls. It is one of the more demanding day hikes in the state, and not for everyone, but it puts you right in the heart of the canyon.

Tallulah Gorge has drawn tightrope walkers to span its chasm. In 1886 a professor billed as a great funambulist walked a wire across the gorge, and the feat became part of the resort's legend, a spectacle for the crowds gathered on the rim.

Nearly a century later, in 1970, the wire-walker Karl Wallenda crossed the gorge on a cable in front of a huge crowd, pausing midway to perform two headstands high above the river. A pair of stone towers that anchored his cable still stand near the rim, and the walk remains part of the story locals tell about the place.

The gorge shelters a distinctive community of plants adapted to its cool, moist walls, including a rare and protected species found in these cliffs. Because these plants are fragile and easily damaged, the park keeps parts of the gorge floor tightly managed, which is one reason for the daily permit limits.

Spring brings wildflowers to the rim and higher water to the river, while fall lights the surrounding hardwoods in color and draws the biggest crowds to the overlooks. Summer is green and humid, best hiked early before the heat, and winter is quiet and stark, when a rare cold snap can hang ice from the cliff faces. Scheduled water releases in spring and fall are the times to see the river at full roar.

The closest Boutel™ stays, so you can turn this stop into an overnight. Each is an independently owned, editorially selected place to stay.