I hiked this trail with my two year old yesterday and it was incredible. There are some things to note however, that I could not find on “All Trails” or in hiker’s reviews.
1. Parking - when you follow your GPS using Google Maps to Long Creek Falls Trailhead, you will end your journey on a long gravel road. You will pass “Opossum Creek Falls” trailhead and the “Long Creek Falls” trailhead is about 2 more minutes down the gravel road. You will come to a dead end and on your right you will see a post marked “Primitive Road.” Park anywhere one this dead end gravel lot. Lock you car and journey down the primitive road by foot unless you have an awesome 4-wheel drive vehicle, then you could journey a little further by vehicle. Most likely though you will want to journey the primitive road by foot. It’s approximately half a mile.
2. Markers - This trail is really not marked and it can be confusing. The first confusing moment you will have that I never saw written about anywhere is a fork in the road very shortly after you start down the trail marked “primitive road.” The fork gives you a choice of going left or right, of course. There is no sign to indicate where the optional roads may lead. If you look, you will see in the middle of the fork a post marked “755B.” Well I certainly don’t know what that means. But when you see it at the fork, go Right. For the rest of your journey if you see the sparse and skinny faded orange ribbons tied to some branches....those are your markers. Super subtle.
3. After the Fork - Once you have gone right at the fork marked “755b,” you will continue on until you reach what would be the parking spot of the primitive road you are walking on. You will know it by its openness and it looks a bit like a dead end. It’s not a dead end, it’s actually the official start of the trail head. If you look right, a narrow trail begins. Follow that and just keep with it. It will go off to the left at a moment where you feel like you can go no further. Just stop, look around, look left, and you will see the trail continue on to the left, there should be those subtle orange ribbons in the trees. Always stop and gather your surroundings. The trail is very narrow, muddy, and full of canopying trees and ferns at your feet. You will soon see one post in the ground with a sign not telling you much of anything you need to know- but it gives reassurance that you are in fact going the right way. Just stick to the narrow trail. At this point most confusion will subside. You just continue on and eventually you will hear the rushing water of the Chattooga River letting you know you are close! The last tiny piece of the trail taking you down to the water and the falls is quickly downhill. A lot of reviews gripes about it being “hard” or “hell” or “challenging.” Well....my two year old did it solo and quickly at adult pace with no complaints so I imagine these are not seasoned hikers so take those reviews with a grain of salt. Personally I found the downhill easy...lots of tree limbs to grab and roots for footholds. Even when climbing back up this made the climb easy and it is short so in my opinion....not hard at all. Let’s say you are an average level hiker...you will be fine. Honesty, I believe this would only be hard if you just never hike and decided to go out on adventure for the first time. So don’t let any reviews you read scare you. I also believe it is common sense that if you are hiking in the mountains that the terrain is not flat. Get out there and enjoy it!
4. The Destination - The falls are incredibly beautiful. Well worth the hike. A great pay out as I call it. You get a great view of them from a beach little area. You can get in the shallow water in front of the falls and play and cool off, find rocks, and get a good photo. You will also be right on the Chattooga River so that is a bonus view! Ellie and I climbed rocks on the river and explored around a bit. We swam, had a pic-nic, found rocks, mushrooms, and many butterflies. A sunny spot so bring sunscreen and wear a swimsuit. Pack plenty of water. Bring sand toys like a bucket and shovel for the kids.
5. The Hike back - This hike is a total 3.3 out and back trail meaning to get back to the car, you will hike back the way you came. Follow the trail, pay attention to any of the orange ribbon markers you can find in the tree, and remember to observe your surroundings both for the way to go and for any creatures.
Tips: Take photos of things like posts, signs, forks in the road to help you remember where you have been and what you need to do next. Take it slowly if you need to, hiking is to be enjoyed too, not just the destination. Pack a pic nic and snacks for the kids. Snacks, drink cups they can access, and pointing things out in nature like mushrooms, flowers, fallen trees are all good ways to entice and excite your young hiker!
Also, note again this trail is muddy. If you are carrying little ones in a carrier and feel you need extra stability, bring some hiking poles or a stick just to give you extra help because it can be slippery. Ellie and I both slid at one point and we weren’t even connected. For us it was a great laugh because we got all muddy, but carrying little babies- a fall could be scary! So just prepare yourself with hiking poles and good grip shoes.
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