Falls of the Cullasaja

We've visited and posted several of these before, but not all, and never in context to one another, so I thought here we'd combine several waterfalls into one post, starting at Highlands, NC and moving downstream, where the Cullasaja River parallels US Highway 64. (That is to say, where US-64 follows the river.) All photos by yours truly this time.

The Cullasaja begins at Sequoyah Dam and Falls at the edge of town. The dam was built (1927) at the site of the falls but did not completely obliterate it, so we're left with a blend of the natural and the man-made.

Bridal Veil Falls is not technically on the Cullasaja but on a tributary creek; immediately below the falls, it flows through a culvert under the highway and then empties into the river. 

[Fiona, our trusty '16 Crosstrek, at Bridal Veil.]

Next downstream is Dry Falls. We've photographed it to better advantage on other occasions; the trail behind the falls was closed this time, and it was a rainy day, so I encourage you to view our earlier visits; use the "waterfalls" link at the bottom of this post.

The locked gate did not, however, keep us from our standing appointment with dusky salamanders, and even with access limited there's really no such thing as a bad view at Dry Falls.

In the warmer months, Quarry Falls is often used by locals and visitors alike as a water slide, hence its alternate name of Bust-Your-Butt Falls. We were here in March, and content to stay as dry as the rain would allow.

This is also a popular area for fishing; the Cullasaja and its tributaries are home to rainbows and brown trout, but most importantly the native char, southern Appalachian brook trout. (I've pursued them myself, not on the Cullasaja but nearby.)

[Fiona again.]

Perhaps the prettiest waterfall on the river—it's so hard to pick a favourite, though—is the least accessible, Cullasaja Falls. To get close requires a steep hike down from the highway, and to the best of my knowledge there's no well-established trail. There's a good view from the road, but we rarely even get to see it for more than a second or two because the pull-off is too small for more than one or maybe two cars. We got lucky on this recent trip, though.

Tallulah Gorge

Tallulah Gorge is a thousand-foot deep (more or less) canyon carved by its namesake river, and it's some of the wildest-looking country in north Georgia. In reality, it's not as wild as it once was: in 1910, the Georgia Railway and Power Company (now just Georgia Power) started building a series of hydroelectric dams on the Tallulah River, and the one just above Tallulah Falls (not a single waterfall but a series) was completed in 1913. Since then, the river's flow has been much reduced, though under an agreement between Georgia Power and Georgia State Parks volume is periodically increased from time to time for whitewater rafting and kayaking.

Jessa and I stopped here with limited time to spend, and with her experiencing double vision and balance issues, so I present here a brief tour of the most accessible section of the gorge's north rim:

L'eau D'or Falls, the first major falls below the dam.

At the right-hand side of this photo is the foot of L'eau D'or Falls; at the right, the top of Tempesta Falls. In between is Hawthorne Pool. 

The top of Tempesta Falls again—the only view of this waterfall to be had from the north rim trail.

A different angle on L'eau D'or Falls.

Tallulah River below Tempesta Falls.

Suspension bridge over Hurricane Falls.

Hurricane Falls is best appreciated at close range...

...but easier to see from the rim. 

The rusting steel frame and concrete pads below are what remains of the tower erected for Karl Wallenda's highwire crossing of Tallulah Gorge in 1970. As daring (possibly insane) as that feat was, it was not a first—a J.A. St. John, using a pseudonym (either Professor Bachman or Professor Leon, depending on the source), walked a tightrope over the same part of the gorge nearly a century earlier (either 1883 or 1886, again depending on who you ask).

It's a long way down...

Oceana Falls.

A view down the Gorge...

...and downstream toward Bridal Veil Falls.

Again, it's a long way down. 

Peregrines have nested here for a few years now, but we didn't see them in our brief visit. I saw a slightly out-of-focus ruby-crowned kinglet—it's not just the photo; the bird itself was blurry, I swear—and Jessa, who couldn't get her eyes to focus, nevertheless got crisp shots of a white-breasted nuthatch. (Even the red "trousers" are visible in one picture.)