Raven Cliff Falls (GA) & Dukes Creek Falls

I want to start off by saying that I hesitate to even call this a swimming hole trek, since (spoiler alert) I didn’t actually find any legitimate swimming holes on today's excursion. However, I guess half the point of sharing these (mis)adventures is finding the duds so you don’t have to. Granted, the waterfalls and the scenery here are worth seeing, but don’t make this trip if you have your heart set on taking a dip. Anyway, here goes.

Today, Cade and I went to check out some waterfalls on Dodd Creek and Dukes Creek near Helen, GA. This was day 2 of our six-day swimming hole and waterfall marathon in north Georgia and the Carolinas. It had been raining the night before, and there was an 80% chance of rain today with a flash flood watch, so I didn’t even bother checking to see if Tallulah Gorge was issuing gorge floor permits. All the other potential points of interest I had marked were on larger creeks and rivers, which would not be good places to be in a flash flood, so I recommended Raven Cliff Falls (the one in Georgia) on Dodd Creek, since that creek is smaller and its tributaries originate in the immediate vicinity. The swimming hole situation seemed pretty iffy for Dodd Creek in this particular area. A couple of the sources I had read online mentioned swimming holes or large pools, but there was no photographic evidence to substantiate this. The Raven Cliff Falls trail has three smaller waterfalls before Raven Cliff Falls, and I had seen another potential waterfall from an unnamed tributary when I examined Google Earth. Downstream from the Raven Cliffs recreation area is Dukes Creek Falls, a tributary waterfall that spills into Dukes Creek (which is basically Dodd Creek after it joins up with another stream downstream of Raven Cliffs) from the side. We planned to do the Raven Cliff Trail and then check out Dukes Creek Falls if we had time.

( Click here for the full trip report with pictures and videos )

In summary, today’s excursion had a couple of cool waterfalls, but was pretty much a bust in the way of legally accessible swimming holes. Granted, I didn’t get into the water at the area with the rope swing on Dodd Creek, so I can’t say for sure that it wasn’t deep, but it didn’t look like it from above the water. I’m hoping we will start getting into the good stuff tomorrow.