Helton Creek Falls

Worth the drive

Is it plungeworthy?

80feet tall

A 2-tier waterfall on Helton Creek.

Scale46/60

Documentation15/20

Character14/20

The details

Tiers: 2 drops
Watercourse: Helton Creek
Coordinates: 34.75231, -83.8959

Get directions →

About Helton Creek Falls

Helton Creek Falls is a 80-foot waterfall in Georgia, on Helton Creek. The water falls in 2 distinct tiers.

It's fullest after rain, and flow can drop off during dry spells — plan around recent weather.

Plungeworthy rates Helton Creek Falls 7.5/10 — worth the drive. The score weighs its scale, how confidently it's mapped, and its character.

What you'll find

Two falls for the price of a third of a mile: Helton Creek's upper and lower drops — a hundred combined feet — each with its own wooden deck, tucked in a rhododendron hollow off a gravel road near Blairsville.

Getting there

Trailhead: Helton Creek Falls Trail, Helton Creek Road, Chattahoochee NF
Parking: Small gravel pull-off
Road: Gravel final stretch — fine driven slowly
Hike: 0.6 mi round trip (easy)
Heads up: June rhododendron bloom turns the hollow into a garden.

When to go

Spring flow and June bloom; the pool below the lower falls is a summer favorite.

Rules & fees

Fee / pass: None
Dogs: Leashed
Camping: Vogel State Park minutes away
Warnings: Wet rock between the decks — Georgia's falls injure someone every year, says the Forest Service, and means it.

Researched from Wikipedia — Helton Creek Falls · USFS — Chattahoochee-Oconee alerts. Conditions change — verify before you drive. Been to Helton Creek Falls recently? Post a conditions report below.

Where it is

Before you go

The pin marks the feature, not a trailhead or a legal route in. Some sit on private land or need a real hike, and conditions change with season and rain. Check local access, don't trespass, and never enter water — hot or cold — where it isn't safe.