I'm meeting up with one of the hiking groups that I frequently explore with in a little while, but since there is a second trail departing from the same trailhead that I'm interested in checking out, I arrive a couple of hours early to visit Cherokee Falls. In my research, this waterfall is also known by the names of Allatoona Falls and Hause Shoal Falls. Whatever the name you know it by though, it seems to be a very popular destination for local kayakers.
The trail departs Olde Rope Mill Park, a popular put in spot for kayaks and starting point for mountain bikers, and immediately crosses a modern bridge over the Little River. It follows a section of mountain bike trail before cutting through the woods and then popping back out onto a gravel road. The road passes under interstate 575 and then enters an area being used to dredge the river. It looks as though this is an active site, but on this holiday weekend, no one is working. It's exactly a pretty place, but I make my way through this area quickly and re-enter the woods, where the trail now follows right alongside the river. I imagine this trail can be problematic when the water is higher or after hard rains.
After leaving the river bank and crossing over a hill, the trail turns back the other direction and descends towards a small finger of Lake Allatoona where one of the feeding creeks cascades twenty or thirty feet over a series of eroded granite steps to form the waterfall. It's actually more impressive than I was expecting and has drawn quite a crowd of kayakers to admire it.
I take a few pictures and turn back the way I came to meet up with the group and explore another trail in the park. This little side adventure took me about 3.6 miles from where I parked the jeep.
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