Kilby Mill Creek Falls

Amy and Jack's Memorial Day Weekend Getaway to Georgia

Chapter 12 - Kilby Mill Creek Falls

Rabun County, GA

Sunday, May 29th, 2011

After a break for dinner there was still plenty of daylight for me to squeeze in one more waterfall. Amy decided to skip this one and instead elected to stay back at the Bed and Breakfast with her book.

Kilby Mill Creek Falls

Jack Anthony's Georgia Waterfall website gives directions from Clayton, Georgia. I figured there would be some short cuts from where we were staying so instead of heading back down to Clayton, I just plugged in the GPS coordinates into my Tom Tom.  At first this seemed like a good idea as according to Tom Tom our Bed and Breakfast was 7.2 miles away, while going through Clayton would have been about 20 miles.  However, following Tom Tom proved to be a mistake!
Things were fine for the first few miles, but then Tom Tom tried to take me on:
1. Roads that did not exist
2. Locked Gated Roads
3. Roads that even a 4x4 pick-up with good ground clearance could not safely travel on.

Eventually after about 45 minutes of driving around I finally found the parking area. I am not even going to try to give directions the way I went; instead I will just trust that the directions on Jack Anthony's website are accurate:

Directions (from Clayton, GA):
1. Follow Hwy. 76 West from Clayton for 8 miles to Persimmon Rd.
2. Turn right on Persimmon Rd. and go 5 miles to the junction of Persimmon Rd and Patterson Gap Rd.
3. Take the left fork for two more miles and park in the pull off on the right just before crossing the bridge over Kilby Mill Creek.

It is an easy hike of about a quarter mile. Head up the right side of the creek to the point where a smaller tributary enters into the main creek. Continue on the right side of the tributary stream to a crossing with several large stones making it an easy rock hop. The trail heads back to the main creek to a campsite at the base of the Lower Falls.

The Lower Falls was a major disappointment. It was so overgrown with vegetation that you could barely see the waterfall.

Lower Kilby Mill Creek Falls

However, past the campsite the trail continues steeply up the right side of the creek. This is the only part of the trail that could be considered difficult, but it is a short enough climb for just about anyone to easily handle.

The Upper Falls is much nicer than the Lower Falls. And what made it really special today was one of the most beautifully Mountain Laurels in absolutely peak bloom right alongside the waterfall. On top of that it was late enough in the day that the sun was below the ridgeline making the lighting perfect.

Kilby Mill Creek Falls

With such perfect conditions, I spent a good bit of time photographing this one before heading on back to the Bed and Breakfast.

Kilby Mill Creek Falls