Two Waterfalls in Toccoa, Georgia

This afternoon the bright sunshine beckoned me out on two mini-hikes, right in my hometown!

Toccoa, Georgia is a tiny town about two hours north of Atlanta that boasts some truly beautiful scenery. One of its most spectacular attractions is just outside the downtown area with its courthouse, public works department, library, and expansive cemetery… Toccoa Falls, right beside Toccoa Falls College.

The Falls wasn’t always this large. But after a dam break upstream in 1977, a wall of water swept away most of the college and killed thirty-nine people. My grandfather, who was on faculty as a music professor, lost all of his pianos but thankfully didn’t live on campus and was unharmed. The college rebuilt beautifully and now has this hundred-and-eighty-six-foot waterfall that visitors come from miles around to admire.

It was a quiet afternoon. The rich blue autumn sky made everything more vivid and magical.

I dearly love the details: at Toccoa Falls, the effect of roots on stone.

The second waterfall, Henderson Falls, is stuck way down a twisty country road. It’s very small when contrasted with Toccoa Falls, but it has its own special hollow where the water falling echoes off the rocks like music. At the bottom of the waterfall is a pool two feet deep and always ice cold. Kids play there year-round, I’m pretty sure.

The city built a staircase down to the waterfall; it rotted, so they recently rebuilt it.

I’m so excited about the leaf changes coming! Today the first hints of autumn were showing red and gold through all the green. As beautiful as it is today, I can’t help but think that soon it’ll be even better.

What a beautiful afternoon in North Georgia… where the waterfalls are both stunning and peaceful.

~ The Dauntless Princess ~