Amicalola Falls has been pretty high on my list of Georgia trails for about a year. So when John asked me if I could take time off to hike it with him, I cancelled work for the day to take the trip.
I was not disappointed.
Teasing Waterfall
Once we had our map, El Capitan and I headed off into the woods. This early on in the trail, we mostly saw small streams just trickling by. We tried to take a few pictures, but the lighting was not on our side.
Reflection Pools
We then made a quick stop at the Reflection Pools; a brief respite before we tackled the uphill trail that awaited us. There wasn’t much to see besides the still water, and two men fishing, so we were soon on our way again.
The Climb to the Steps
It was all uphill after that. I hadn’t hiked a trail that steep since hiking up Lone Mountain in Vegas, last spring. Thankfully, the river to our left gave us plenty of opportunities excuses to stop and take pictures.
The higher we climbed, the brighter the sun seemed to get.
Step It Up
Eventually, we reached the ten-million steps it would take to get to the top of the waterfall. This was the first 175 steps, but there are 604 steps in total. Not surprisingly, at 729 feet, Amicalola Falls is the tallest cascading waterfall in the South.
But if I said it wasn’t worth it, I would be lying. I’ve seen a lot of waterfalls in my time – even climbed up a few, and fell down one – but I have never seen anything as majestic as Amicalola Falls.
It was almost impossible to fit the entire thing into one frame. I probably should have tried a vertical panoramic shot, but I didn’t think of that at the time.
Sadly Mistaken
Thinking we were already at the top and didn’t have much further to go, John and I stopped for a selfie.
Boy, were we wrong! We had even more climbing to do, to get to the bridge over the waterfall. The view wasn’t as phenomenal as down below; but worth seeing, nonetheless.
All Downhill
The rest of our hike was downhill after that – only literally, this time. It was rugged and rocky, with a few brief respites of actual dirt. I probably should have taken a picture or two, but let’s be honest: after a view like this, nothing else really matters.
Where have your hiking and photography adventures taken you to, lately? Tell me all about it in the comments below!
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Great Post!!!
Thank you! 😊
Great journalism, beautiful capture cascading waterfalls and trails.As well as beauty you two are sharing together!! Happiness and blessings your way.
Thank you, Susan. We had a great time. 😊
I love Amicalola. I’ve been there several times. It never gets old. But boy do I hate stairs after only a little while. 😊
Have you ever been to Tulluah Gorge or Cloudland Canyon? I think you’d enjoy both of those too.
Hey Angie! I’m not surprised.
I messaged you a few months back on twitter asking if you’d like to go hiking or something, but it probably got lost in your endless stream 😄
I haven’t done Tulluah, but the travel agents at my firm have and they are currently not allowed to mention it to me. They beat me to Amicalola too, and weren’t allowed to bring that up either until I got there
Basically, while we were testing the services, they booked their trips and did not tell me they were going, nor did they invite me. I found out when they got back. Naturally, our work relationship has never been the same since. So much resentment in me! 😂
Cloudland Canyon is amazing. I did that one in January 2016. I really felt like a tiny person in that big space. Also the only canyon I’ve been to not completely made of rock, so far.
Oh. Sucks that I missed it. Yeah, I don’t get to hike near enough. I’d love to go hiking with you sometime. I used to live in Blue Ridge, so I used to hike almost every weekend. Lots of trails to explore. Now I barely ever go. 🙁
I would be very ticked off at my coworkers. That was very rude of them.
I’d love to get together sometime. I’m out of shape but I’ll try not to slow you down too bad.
Have you ever been to Allatoona falls? It’s not far from my house but I’ve never made it. I took the wrong trail last time I tried so I just ended up walking around the bike trails at Old Rope Mill.
I’m sure you won’t slow me down. I stop to take pictures, so there will be plenty of breaks along the way!
I’ve never been to Allatoona Falls. We’ll have to plan an excursion soon.
Do you go hiking often in the fall and winter?
Sounds good!!
I don’t usually hike in the winter. Fall, yes.
Same, although fall sometimes brings a lot of rain and makes it difficult.
Yeah, so did a few weeks this summer. It rained way too often. 😊
That’s true too! Well I’ll let you know when I can head up to Allatoona! 😄
Great. 😊 Have a great weekend!
I’ve hiked up Amicalola several times. There are at least 3 ways to get to the top, and 2 of them don’t involve climbing the million stairs, but they still are steep climbs!
Well that was my fault! I picked the toughest route! Totally worth it though. I enjoyed the exercise. 😁
I’m so glad you took this hike on my behalf and took all the photos. I would surely not have been able to make it up there myself.
On your behalf, and many others, I’ve been hearing! It’s quite the climb for sure! Thanks so much for taking the time to drop by and leave a comment. 😊
I haven’t been to amicalola falls in forever! So pretty!
Thank you! When was the last time you visited?
Looooooong time ago, when I was a kid, early 80s.
That’s quite some time! Does it look different from how you remember it? 😊
Not too very much. It does make me miss Georgia. Alpharetta looks nothing like it did when I was a kid; thank heaven not all of Georgia’s beauty has been ruined by shopping centers, condos, and mixed use developments
Oh, one of the things I love about Georgia is how little of nature is disturbed. You see it when you’re flying overhead. They don’t remove a single tree that isn’t necessary 😂
I,ve hiked Amicalola Falls, and totally agree. It’s spectacular!
That’s awesome! It’s great exercise too. I’ll tell you that much! 😊
Thanks for sharing. Fun photos and happy smiles 🙂
Thanks John! 😊
Beautiful!!
Thank you!
Beautiful photos. Thanks for sharing!
Thank you for taking the time to check out my post and leave a comment! 🙃
It was a pleasure. 🙂