CHATTOOGA NATIONAL WILD AND SCENIC RIVER

KING CREEK FALLS - JUNE 10, 2000

The Chattooga River begins in the mountains of North Carolina as small rivulets, nourished by springs and abundant rainfall, high on the slopes of the Appalachian Mountains.  The water drops a half mile in elevation over fifty miles as it winds its way to Lake Tugaloo where the river ends between South Carolina and Georgia.

The Chattooga is one of the few remaining free-flowing streams in the Southeast, and the setting is primitive with dense forests and undeveloped shorelines on most of its route.  On May 10, 1974, Congress designated the Chattooga a Wild and Scenic River - a honor reserved for rivers with outstanding scenery, recreation, wildlife, geologic, and cultural values. 

Our hike to King Creek Falls was an easy one that followed the river southbound from the Burrells Ford Parking Area and picked up a spur trail that leads about 0.3 miles to the falls.  We took a long lunch break here, cooled off in the water, then hiked further down the trail to a campsite on the river.  We tried some fishing here and hung out in the summer sun along some rocks in the middle of the Chattooga.  The Chattoga River Trail and Foothills Trail share the footpath in this section, but they part ways about two miles south of King Creek Falls.