The Tallulah Falls Gorge State Park Workout

This weekend getaway took us from our home in Apollo Beach to a breathtaking gorge in North Georgia, and arriving at our ultimate destination in the Smoky Mountains just outside of Pigeon Forge. I really enjoy road trips most of the time just because of the actual destination part, but all the in-betweens really just feel like wasted time so we generally try to drive overnights and get where we’re going in the early to mid-morning hours. This time we left at midnight and traversed the highways up to Tallulah Gorge State Park, Ga. Of course, I get motion sickness really easily and drove most of the way, tried to sleep the rest, which resulted in a never ending nausea and some fun moments scrambling for a trash bag near Atlanta… all part of the fun, right?

Anyways, Tallulah Falls Gorge is amazing. While we are in the Smokies and surrounding areas, there are currently some pretty major forest fires that have been burning for a week or so by now and it has left much of the neighboring states (depending on the wind directions) under health and air quality advisories. At our first stop in Tallulah, it was evident that the fires were much bigger than we had imagined, leaving the areas from about Atlanta on in a rather thick smoky haze.

The journey down to Tallulah Falls was most definitely a test of our out-of-shape selves. There are lots of trails, most of which led down to the falls or overlooking the gorge, and most of which were riddled with stairs that left us out of breath and speechless (because of the amazing views). There is a long suspension bridge that connects the two sides of the gorge and enables you to walk to the bottom and even cross sides at the ground floor of the gorge if you get a special permit. We opted out of the ground floor experience but still got pretty close the big waterfalls with awesome views up the gorge. I highly suggest at least stopping by to see down into the gorge even if you’re not one for heavy stair climbing action. Despite the stairs, no one in our group really felt too sore the next day, so that was a major plus! However, I think next time we go we will definitely try to get a permit and walk around on the gorge floor. It seemed like a really fun way to experience the area, just maybe not when it’s a little chilly out.