Panther Creek Falls

[flyminion]

For Day 5 of our trip, Cade and I went to Panther Creek Falls near Tallulah Falls, GA. It was either that or Three Forks (where three creeks come together to form the West Fork Chattooga River in northeast Georgia), and there was a flash flood watch today with a 100% chance of heavy thunderstorms in the afternoon, so we decided that a triple confluence of three substantial creeks was probably not the best place to hang out today.

The hike to Panther Creek Falls was fairly straightforward, so I’m not going to give much of a play-by-play. The trail follows Panther Creek downstream for 3.5 miles from the parking area to the waterfall. The trail was steep and hilly in certain sections, but it was more or less flat for most of the hike. There were several points where the trail had steep drop-offs of about 50 feet right next to it, so there were cables connected to metal posts that were anchored into the ground with concrete. Some of the posts had come up, though, so some sections were a bit sketchy.



We made it to the waterfall in about 1.5 hours walking at a brisk pace with minimal stops. Just above the main waterfall, the creek drops over two smaller waterfalls, each with a small pool at the bottom. The first small waterfall dropped below a rock ledge, and the second was a vertical plunge into a small chasm with two logs across the top.



We saw some people jumping off the logs into this pool, and I knew I wanted to stop here on the way back up.

We continued down to the large pool at the base of the main waterfall. The pool had a large sandy beach and clean, clear water, which gave it somewhat of a tropical/exotic look.



Here is a video of the falls, including the upper sections:

Watch on YouTube

I was burning up, so I wasted no time getting in. Despite the rainy forecast, it was currently hot and sunny, and I had to dip my head into the creek several times during the hike. The pool was refreshing. I climbed up onto the ledge at the base of the falls and stood there for a minute, and then I waded around the pool to see how deep it was. Most areas were about 5 feet deep or shallower, and there were a lot of logs and large branches on the bottom that hurt to step on. There were also underwater rocks jutting out from the ledge near the falls, so it was hard to swim freely without kicking anything. There was one very small section on the river-right side near the base of the falls that was about 7 feet deep. I got out of the water to apply sunscreen, and I sat on the beach for fifteen minutes and waited for it to dry. Meanwhile, Cade went to see if there was anything else downstream. He returned a few minutes later and said there was nothing terribly interesting in the immediate vicinity. After my sunscreen had dried, I tried to snorkel in the pool, but the water ended up being too murky to see anything. This might have been because a bunch of people had gotten into the pool and were stirring around.

After I got out, Cade and I went up to the rocks above the falls. I wanted to check out the pool where people had been jumping off the logs earlier.



I got in to assess the depth. It was over my head, but there was a submerged log about four feet down, and it was partially in the landing area for someone jumping off the log above the pool. There was only a very small section where someone could land safely, so I’m not sure how the people were jumping earlier without hitting anything. I also got in the uppermost pool below the top waterfall.



I was hesitant to enter this pool at first because there was an underwater chute that looked like it might have a strong current.



If I got caught in the chute, it would sweep me over the small waterfall spilling into the log pool (and by small waterfall, I mean a raging torrent of water relentlessly pummeling the rocks eight feet below). I eased into the upper pool and was able to touch the bottom in most places. There was only one small place where I couldn’t touch, and there wasn’t much of a current there. I also climbed down the upper portion of the main waterfall to check out a pool in the middle of the falls, but it was only chest deep.

Cade and I hung out on the rocks until about 4 PM (which is when the storms were forecasted to start), and we started heading back. We heard a few distant rumbles on the return hike, but it never rained on us. We had seen several cascades on the way in, but they did not appear to have swimming holes, and there were only two I thought were worth stopping to photograph. This one was about halfway between the main falls and the trailhead, next to a primitive campsite:



There was another one closer to the trailhead that started off as a small drop, followed by a long slide:

Watch on YouTube

We had to scramble down to get to this one. It looked like there might be a substantial pool at the end of the slide, but the trees and rocks kept me from getting a good view, and the only way to get to it was to walk through the water. I decided it wasn’t worth the effort, so we climbed back up to the trail and returned to the car. The hike had not been terribly strenuous; it was just long and hot. We returned to Clayton, and I ate an entire 12-inch pizza and a tiramisu.

In summary, the swimming hole at Panther Creek Falls was not that great, at least not in terms of 'functionality'. It was mostly shallow, and you couldn’t really swim around without kicking rocks or submerged clutter. The upper pools were small and had the same problem. However, if an otherwise subpar swimming hole could get by on looks alone, it would be Panther Creek Falls. What it lacks in swimmability, it makes up for in aesthetics. It looks like a swim beach at a lake, but in an entirely natural setting with a waterfall in the background. In my opinion, it's worth seeing once, but it doesn't warrant repeated visitation if you're just in it for the swimming. However, I am kind of curious about what gems could be hidden on the downstream half of the trail. The creek has really clean, clear water, and while it was uneventful in most of the areas we saw, Panther Creek Falls shows that the creek is capable of producing some primo swimming holes. If I'm ever in the area again, I might check out the section of the creek downstream of Panther Creek Falls.