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| Dukes Creek Falls. |
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| Raven Cliff. |
Unlike my trip to
DeSoto Falls in February, which was on the
spur of the moment, this trip was planned from the start. The first time I almost
came here, to Dukes Creek Falls, was back in June of last year when I hiked the
some of the same stretch of the AT that I visited earlier on this day.
Instead of going to Dukes Creek I decided to
go and hike the five miles to
Raven Cliff Falls (another future blog.) which is
just a little over a mile above Dukes Creek Falls as both are off the
Richard B. Russell Scenic Highway (GA 348).
In the past I had thought of just doing a waterfall day and
hit Dukes Creek and DeSoto in the same trip. Also, I thought maybe if or when I
hike
Tray Mountain I could also do Dukes Creek in the same day. However, when
my day got cut short when section hiking the AT in February (chronicled
here
&
here), and after going to
DeSoto Falls on that day, I decided that when I
went on my hike to finish the AT section, I sat out to do in February, that I
would also do Dukes Creek the same day.
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| Information board & fee box. |
I knew it was going to be over a two-mile hike there and
back, I know it doesn’t sound like much but
I had already put in about 11 miles
on the AT, so I was a little tried, but I decided to press on. Anyway, when you
enter you will come to an information board and the payment box. Yes, because
of the popularity of the falls it cost $3, which I didn’t find paying. I guess
I mentioned this before, but I forgot to pay at DeSoto Falls which also has a
service fee.
Once you park the next thing you will notice is the vault toilet,
but it the view behind it that will most catch your eye. Here one finds an incredible
view of
Yonah Mountain, one of the best I know of. The final thing I came to my
attention was that unlike DeSoto Falls, when I was the only person taking in
the sights, there was a lot more cars and people here on this day. It might be
because it was a good 25 degrees warmer than that day in February.
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| Vault toilet &... |
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| ...Yonah Mountain. |
After taking in the view it is on to the tail. Just 0.1
miles down the path one can get a look at the falls from an observation deck
here. It is wheelchair accessible and for those you can’t hike the trail down
it provides a good view of the falls. However, I came for a closer look at the water,
so it is on the trail down for me.
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| Start of the trail. |
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| Dukes Creek Falls from upper viewing deck. |
The first part of the trail is mostly on a footbridge before
it finally gives way to a wide well maintained dirt path. This next part of the
trail is not to steep and gives one the first sounds of rushing water. The
creek that runs down below the trail is Dodd Creek, which the above mentioned
Raven Cliff Falls is fed by. After about 4/10 of a mile one hits a turn and
heads down the third part of the trail, which is the steepest. The closer one
gets the louder the falls got. I will say a little over halfway there is a sad
site in the valley. It is here that one see the ravages of a little evasive
pest (which I mentioned in this blog), the
Hemlock Woolly Adelgid. The dead husks
of some once mighty Hemlocks can be seen from this spot on the trail, just sad.
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| The sad state of the mighty Hemlock. |
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| Yes. |
Finally, almost simultaneously one sees the footbridge that
leads to the falls and the outline of the falls themselves. I must say that
Dukes Creek Falls are impressive. It is a 300-foot cascade that flows down the
mountain side to the valley below. However, that is not the only thing one
notices, the area is filled with flowing water.
I guess it is here I should mention that the
whole complex of falls reminds one of
Anna Ruby Falls near
Helen. Dukes Creek
Falls are actually on Davis Creek and Dodd Creek flows down to converge and they
both form Dukes Creek.
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| First look at the falls. |
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| Upper part of Dukes Creek Falls... |
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| ...& the lower. |
While I could have taken the stairs down to the base of
Dukes Creek Falls, I first decided to walk down the footbridge to the falls on
Dodd Creek at the end of the deck. This waterfall, Lower Dodd Creek Falls,
while not near as big as its large sibling it is impressive (just 35-feet) for
a small waterfall. There is also some impressive water that flows down Dodd
Creek as it approaches the junction with Davis Creek.
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| Lower Dodd Creek Falls. |
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| Small falls below Dodd Creek Falls. |
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| Dodd Creek makes it way down. |
The main event is the viewing deck at the bottom of Dukes
Creek Falls. Not only does one get a get look at the big falls it also gives a
up close look at where the two creeks merge to form Dukes Creek. I will say
while I like DeSoto Falls, Dukes Creek is much more impressive, so much so it
could be in my Top five Georgia waterfalls (look for this blog in the future). I
will add that if you want to get the full view it is probably best to visit
here before summer because it will be somewhat obstructed by leaf cover.
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| Winter/early spring offers the best view. |
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| Where Davis & Dodd Creeks merge. |
Anyway, after a good half-hour admiring the beauty of the
falls it was time to head back up the trail. But, these falls had one more surprise
in store. As I was headed up the middle part of the trail, through the trees I
spotted…you guessed it a waterfall. This one, Upper Dodd Creek Falls, was at
least a 20 footer. How I missed it on the way down I have no idea. Like Dukes
Creek itself, this falls is one that needs to be viewed in winter/early spring.
Well, it was back up the trail and the
upper viewing deck with one last look at the valley and falls below. After 2.2 miles here and over 13 miles on the
day I was glad to see the good old Green Hornet.
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| The almost hidden Upper Dodd Creek Falls. |
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| The valley of the falls. |
Still, these falls were well worth the trip and should be
near the top of anyone’s list of waterfalls to visit in Georgia.
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