While heading down toward Florida we were looking for waterfalls to explore along the way. Looking on Google Maps, we found Waterfall Park in Dalton, Georgia. We had never heard of it so we decided to check it out.
Since it was so close to the Interstate 75 exit for county road 52/Walnut Ave it looked like a great spot to get out and stretch our legs and we were excited that there was a new waterfall there to explore. When exiting from the interstate, your next turn is College Dr, the road the park is on. The park is located on the opposite side of the road. It’s very easy to miss. I know this because we did and had to turn around.
It’s not really visible from the road unless you know where to look. There are four regular parking spaces and one handicapped. Right in front of the parking spaces is a large, well maintained deck with picnic tables.
Waterfall Park, established in 2005, is a good place to sit and take a break from interstate driving if you want to listen to the flowing of the creek while you eat a picnic lunch.
When we arrived, we were the only ones there, and before we left, all of the parking spaces were full as other people were stopping for lunch. We didn’t know if they were fellow travelers, or locals enjoying their park. Either way, it’s nice place for a little break, especially since it had some shade when we were there.
While the deck and picnic area are well maintained, the area around the waterfall doesn’t seem to be. We visited early summer and the area around the waterfall was completely overrun with kudzu and other plants, making it extremely difficult to see the waterfall at all. From the deck we really couldn’t see anything.
Despite the overgrowth, we could hear the stream and waterfall. We followed a small trail that led us from the picnic area down to the stream, and followed it up as it ran beside the waterfall.
Due to the kudzu we couldn’t see the whole waterfall at once. We could only see one tiny portion of the waterfall at any one time. There is a short trail that walks along the side of the waterfall starting near the base. The trail itself looks to be semi-maintained, however about midway up the trail gets rocky and there are some knee high rocks in the trail.
The waterfall was a decent height, but not wide, or with a lot of flow. So if you are interested in a large waterfall you’ll want to skip this one, unless you’re just wanting a break from driving, or to stop for a snack.
I’ve seen a few pictures and videos where this waterfall has lots of water flow, but most showed what we saw – very low water flow and mostly obstructed. This is clearly a very wet weather waterfall. It had rained pretty hard just a day or so before we visited and it was still low flow.
Waterfall Park is located at 890 College Drive right on the corner at the traffic light at the intersection of College Drive and Walnut Avenue. There are no restroom facilities.
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