Hiking to Raven Cliff Falls in North Georgia: Five Miles of Gorgeous Waterfalls

This hiking trail travels 5.1 miles to one of the most popular and beautiful waterfalls in North Georgia, Raven Cliff Falls.

The Raven Cliff Falls Hiking Trail journeys through the Chattahoochee National Forest to a one of the most unique waterfalls we’ve seen: Raven Cliff Falls.  These gorgeous falls cascade 400 feet down through Raven cliff – literally slicing the massive cliff in half before cascading down through several lower falls below the cliff.  This 5.1 mile hike has a truly rewarding waterfall at the end, but while following a rushing creek through beautiful forest, gives views of six other impressive waterfalls along the way. Raven Cliff Falls hiking trail is one of our all-time favorite waterfall trails in Georgia.

The trailhead is located on the far side of the parking lot towards the bridge;  from the trailhead, you’ll begin a climb up a moderate incline, following along the banks of Dodd Creek.  The hiking trail follows Dodd Creek the entire hike to Raven Cliff Falls – and varies along the way as it courses over multiple waterfalls, travels lightly over a gravelled bed in some sections, and slows to become a deep stream over large boulders in parts.

As you begin to descend the initial incline, look to your left where you’ll see a camping area and the widest section of Dodd Creek on the trail.  Here, the creek turns a horseshoe-shaped bend and deepens to form a great swimming hole, 4-5 feet deep in sections.  Our Labrador Retriever found this a perfect place for both a pre-hike and post-hike swim. As you wind back around to follow Dodd Creek, the forest canopy changes along your journey from pine and rhodedendron to tulip poplar and maple – providing a shaded journey for most of the way.  The trail crosses the creek at a large wooden bridge before beginning an ascent up, taking you to a slightly higher elevation than the creek for most of your journey.

The rise and fall of the trail is moderate, making for a fairly easy hike.   This, coupled with the magnificent waterfall at the end and the moderate distance of 5 miles, makes this trail much more highly travelled than most that we hike – but we found the trail traffic well worth the payoff at the end. The falls are stunning.

You’ll cross a y-shaped stream junction and another bridge as you continue your hike to the falls, passing multiple small waterfalls along the way.

You’ll hear the roar of the falls as the trail leads to Raven Cliff Falls, and will see the lower falls as the trail turns towards Raven Cliff.  Continue hiking on a rocky trail towards the cliff;  as you approach, you’ll see the huge gash that the rushing water has cut in the cliff, splitting the cliff into two huge slabs of granite.

After taking time to enjoy the falls, depart Raven Cliff on the same trail to return to the trailhead, enjoying the rushing sounds of Dodd Creek along the way.

Click here to see our trail as recorded by GPS on Google Maps. GPS Coordinates: 34.709969,-83.788837

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