Big Thunder Falls, Holcomb Creek Falls,
and Ammons Branch Falls
with Kyle, Angelina, and Sammy
Rabun County, GA
Wednesday, October 21st, 2020
Big Thunder Falls
Big Thunder Falls has been on my radar for several years now. When Kyle and Angelina mentioned they had an afternoon appointment up that way, I suggested Big Thunder Falls. It turned out to be the perfect adventure to start the day!
Note: Do not trust any map applications or websites for driving directions. Most will have you turning on gated roads that are not accessible to motorized vehicles. If you are coming from the west, you can use this website for driving directions:
Or if you are coming from the southeast like we were you can follow this route:
Turn on Warwoman Road from Hwy28.
Turn on Overflow Creek Road and continue past John Teague Gap (Three Forks Trailhead).
From John Teague Gap, continue on Hale Ridge Road
Turn North on FR86B (Billingsly Creek Road).
Park before the gate.
While I waited for Kyle and Angelina, I took the short and obvious path down to Put-in Falls.
Giant Culvert above Put-in Falls
The hike to Big Thunder continues on FR86B past the gate. The road is overgrown and long pants are definitely recommended, but there are no major obstacles along the way.
At some point you will either have to creek walk upstream, or Bushwhack. We creekwalked on the way in and Bushwhacked on the way out. The Bushwhack route we took out was definitely easier, more direct, and much quicker than the creekwalk.
Here are some of the photos from our adventure:
Kyle checking out the trees
Kyle, Sammy, and Angelina taking a break at a Log Jam on Clear Creek
Working or way towards Big Thunder Falls
Kyle, Angelina, and Sammy at Big Thunder Falls
Big Thunder Falls
Group Photo at Big Thunder Falls
After Big Thunder, we still had a little time left, so we decided to hike the Holcomb Creek Falls loop off of Hale Ridge Road.
Group Photo at Holcomb Creek Falls
L to R: Sammy, Kyle, Angelina, Me
Ammons Branch Falls
Group Photo at Ammons Branch Falls
It was a beautiful day to explore some of Georgia's finest waterfalls with some great friends.
My complete set of photos is posted here: