Glad To Be a Gladden: Hidden Falls (& hidden treasure hunt!) Trail Guide

Continuing on my journey and goal to officially hike with Ellie to every Oconee waterfall, we ventured out to Hidden Falls for another gorgeous view, day, and check mark! Hiking to Hidden Falls leaves me with only 5 more waterfalls to discover in Oconee and then I'll be able to wisely trek to each without wondering, "am I where I'm supposed to be?!"

I love living only an hour away from these beautiful falls!

Hidden Falls is recorded on AllTrails as a 5.1 mile hike. I clocked 5.9 miles. The trail is an out and back and the signage is awesome! Very clear. I rate this trail as easy to moderate. If you are a seasoned hiker, this trail is easy, mostly flat. Moderate for the sake that towards the end near the falls there is a slight decline, and therefore an incline to adventure briefly back up as you start back to your car. But it's really not bad at all. Anyone can do this hike. All levels in my opinion. Just take your time if you are new at this. There are lots of beautiful views in the winter of the mountains.

Hidden Falls is accessed through Oconee State Park. So, for GPS just type Oconee State Park, or Hidden Falls trailhead and you will be taken exactly where you need to go. If for some chance you arrive to the state park and cannot find the falls, just go to the visitors center and ask and they will tell you! If you have a State Parks Pass like myself, you will pay no fee. If you do not, a small fee will be due upon arrival.

When you pull into the state park, keep right after the payment kiosk, then take your first right turn towards the barn and carpet golf and campground area. You will be driving behind the visitors center which will be on your left.

As you continue driving, bypass the campground and stay left at any fork in the road towards this sign:

(sign reads: "Camping Area Campers Only" - go left at this sign; see my red arrow? 😉)

So now, follow down this road staying straight until you see the trailhead on your left and the parking area on your right with this sign:

You have arrived! Gather your gear and head to the trail head across the road. You are following to start the White, yellow, and black blazes. Eventually it will become just yellow blazes and those yellow blazes will be additionally marked with "HF" for Hidden Falls!

The trail is really great, easy, mostly flat. A few roots. As we were walking along, per usual, I was searching for any new plant life to identify, fungi, animals, treasures, etc. Well, as I looked into a stump, I noticed a treasure...though, not the natural variety...it was a little elephant figurine! I gasped and said, "Ellie!! come see!! A treasure for you!" A lot of hikers like to hide things like an Easter egg hunt for kids on trails and we were lucky to be the recipients of this adventure on this hike! Ellie was so intrigued and excited! She asked me questions about this treasure for the entire hike. But it wasn't the last! As we continued along, we found more treasures in the hollow of a tree; we found a peacock feather (fake), a blue jay (which was so convenient as we are studying winter birds constantly right now), a dwarf from snow White, and a dinosaur!! Boy, were we excited!! I love when people do things like this. Good humans just being cool and thoughtful of kids. So we had an unexpected fun treasure hunt!

Not very long after you begin the trail, you will come to a wide open "4 way stop" in the woods with a lot of signs. Just keep straight ahead, you will see your black, white, and yellow blazes on a tree, and soon, in front of you there is a wooden sign telling you to go left towards Hidden Falls. Go left. Your blazes are now Yellow with the "HF" marked on them.

Just continue on. The signage is really very good. The trail is obvious. There are a few small spots with threes down in which you can go around or over. You will next eventually come to a small descending staircase, just a few steps, and a red gate on your left and a sign in front of you declaring to go right to find Hidden Falls. So, go right, here. Shortly after that, you will see a sign pointing down a trail to the left for Hidden Falls, follow this trail.

A little over a mile is left in the trail at this point and it will fly by. You get a lot of those beautiful mountain views at this point on the trail. Still a few trees down every now and again, nothing you can't go around or over. Before you know it, in the distance you will see and hear the subtle and beautiful roar of the waterfall beckoning you to have a seat at it's hem and enjoy a pic-nic. There is plenty of space to sit, play, throw a stick for the dog to chase, and just take it all in right up close. You can climb up a little way too being cautious and careful.