Explore Lookout Mountain Waterfalls at Cloudland Canyon State Park

Cloudland Canyon State Park is a wilderness oasis located on the quieter end of Lookout Mountain where you can enjoy waterfalls, views, and more.

Cloudland Canyon State Park is just across the border in North Georgia. It’s the perfect place to get away from the city for the day or a weekend as it’s about a 40 minute drive from downtown Chattanooga. There’s hiking trails, creeks and waterfalls, camping, and more. Keep reading to learn more about everything this North Georgia state park has to offer.

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History of Cloudland Canyon State Park

Cloudland Canyon State Park was started in the late 1930s as an employment opportunity during the Great Depression. Originally the land was all privately owned but slowly the State of Georgia has bought pieces of land that accumulates into what is the entirety of the park today. It started with roughly 1,000 acres but today boasts over 3,500 acres.

General Information about Cloudland Canyon State Park

Parking Fees and Camping

As for all Georgia state parks, there is a $5 day parking fee. But if you find yourself exploring a lot of Georgia state parks, you can opt for the yearly pass to save more money. Or you can choose to camp here with the numerous camping style accommodations ranging from traditional tent or RV sites to yurts or cottages. By camping at the state park, you’ll only pay the parking fee once during your stay.

Entrances

There’s more than one way into this Georgia state park. You can enter in through the main entrance on top of Lookout Mountain or in the valley of Trenton, GA for the main attractions. The main entrance is where you’ll want to go if you’re camping or want to enjoy the views from the Overlook Trail. This entrance can be found on GA-136 which is easy to approach from Chattanooga or Trenton, GA.

If you’re not interested in views, want to hike beside the creek, and see all the waterfalls, I highly recommend entering from the bottom at the Sitton’s Gulch Trailhead. Read my Hemlock Falls blog post to see why and all the details about this trailhead and hike.There are additional trailheads spread across Lookout Mountain that allow for hiking, mountain biking, and horseback riding. But if you’ve never been here before, I suggest checking out the main area with the two entrances above, first.

Things to Do at Cloudland Canyon State Park

There’s more than hiking and camping to enjoy at Cloudland Canyon State Park. Try your hand at disc golf (for an additional fee) if you want to try something new.

You can also rent a bike for a half or full day. With 30 miles of mountain biking trails, this is a great way to really see as much of the 3500 acres of land as you can. I have not biked here so I can’t speak on how the trails are. But from what I’ve read, they range from moderate to strenuous mountain biking trails.

Explore a natural cave on a guided tour. This cave tour is perfect for you if you’re excited to scramble over rocks, crawl through mud, and wade through streams on a wild cave adventure. Learn more on the caving page of the Cloudland Canyon website.

Fishing and geocaching are also outdoor attractions that can be enjoyed in this North Georgia state park. Learn more about fishing on the website, or geocaching too.

Main Hiking Trails of Cloudland Canyon State Park

Cloudland Canyon State Park is full of 64 miles of hiking trails, including a connector trail that connects the main part of the park to the rest of their hiking, biking, and horse trails on Lookout Mountain. If you plan to hike a lot and camp here, you can check out some of the longer trails. But if you’re wanting to spend a day to just see the main sights, learn more about the shorter hiking trails below.

Overlook Trail

• 1 mile round trip
• Mostly flat, minimal inclines

The Overlook Trail will be the first trail you encounter if you enter the park through the main entrance. The parking area is near the end of the road and you’ll be directed here by the park kiosk attendant when you first enter the park. There’s two overlooks along the trail and it remains quite flat along the way. If you love mountain top views, you’ve gotta explore this short hike during your visit. The Overlook Trail dead ends into a backcountry trail so I suggest turning around after the second overlook. 

West Rim Loop Trail

• 5 miles round trip
• A little rough, some inclines

Next from the parking lot is the West Rim Loop Trail. Overall, this trail is quite lengthy as it crosses the main creek in the park and goes through camping areas, the cottages, and the yurts. I don’t recommend going too far down this trail if you’re here for just the main sights. Because this is the trail that leads to the Waterfalls Trail in about a quarter of a mile. But if you’re camping here, this trail is well recommended by others (I have yet to hike it).

Waterfalls Trail

• About 2 miles round trip
• Lots of stairs for steep inclines

The Waterfalls Trail quickly leads you into the canyon by means of over 600 steps in various staircases. Be prepared for the stair steps with this one. Although the trail is rather short at just 2 miles round trip, the elevation loss and gain coming back will quickly exhaust you. But there’s resting areas along the trail for you to pause and catch your breath. For this reason, I suggest taking the longer hike of Sitton’s Gulch Trail to avoid the climb down and back up the mountainside. Also be mindful that the trail may be wet and muddy near the bottom between the waterfalls.

Sitton’s Gulch Trail

• About 4 miles round trip
• Somewhat rough, gradual and steep inclines

Sitton’s Gulch Trail has its own trailhead that you’ll find in the valley below, instead of on top of Lookout Mountain. This two mile trail will take you up a slow incline towards the two major waterfalls. And along the way you’ll see the main creek as well as some surprising, unnamed waterfalls you may not expect. Learn all the details you need to know beforehand about this hike in my Hemlock Falls blog post.

Waterfalls of Cloudland Canyon State Park

Cherokee Falls

Cherokee Falls is the first waterfall you’ll encounter on the Waterfalls Trail. It’s 65 feet tall and plummets into a blue hole before continuing downstream amidst rapids. Although the water looks inviting, swimming is prohibited here. But you can still enjoy the waterfall from the shoreline if you wish to walk down closer to it. If it hasn’t rained recently, the waterfall might be just a trickle, but the best times to enjoy this place would be in the winter or spring when rain is abundant to keep the waterfalls flowing strong.

Hemlock Falls

Hemlock Falls is the second waterfall you’ll encounter on the Waterfalls Trail, unless of course you’re coming in from the Sitton’s Gulch Trail, then it will be the first one. This 100 foot tall waterfall closely resembles the prior Cherokee Falls, but you can easily note the difference by the huge boulder that sits in front of Hemlock Falls. This waterfall is best viewed from the elevated viewing platform and I don’t recommend climbing down to the shoreline here. Again, swimming is prohibited.

Closing Thoughts

Cloudland Canyon is a great state park to visit in North Georgia. It’s well worth the day visit, even with the $5 fee, and even more so if you decide to try an overnight stay. There’s countless trails, plenty of water all around, and beautiful views and wildlife. Cherokee Falls and Hemlock Falls are some of the best waterfalls on Lookout Mountain. So, if you’re already staying in the area, you should definitely check them out. Until next time, enjoy exploring Chatt!

Explore More in North Georgia:

• Scenic drive on Fort Mountain
• Hikes and views at Lake Chatuge
• River tubing on the Toccoa River

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