Cherokee National Forest and Bald River Falls
is easily accesible from the road, it is one of the few waterfalls that can be viewed from your car! This beautiful waterfall can be enjoyed by everyone. It is located in the Cherohala National Forest (it is pronounced: chair-o-HAY-la because it is a combination of Cherokee and Nantahala).
is entered from Tellico Plains, TN. The skyway goes up to elevations of over 6,000 feet. The views of the valleys and surrounding mountains are spectacular. The beautiful autumn colors add to the lovely vistas.
A close-up shot of the Moss and drips at Bald River Falls during the 2008 drought. I enjoy photographing water trying to capture its movement ad power.
A girl jumps from a cliff near Baby Falls. Cliff jumping can be dangerous, sometimes deadly. Hidden rocks below the water can kill or seriously injure a person. Some of these people were doing back flips off this cliff, one wrong hit on the water could be their last.
Many of the river rocks in the Cherokee National Forest have large holes worn in them from smaller rocks rubbing against them. In Norway these are called "Trolls' Cooking Pots"!
My friend Charlie, his dog Tootsie, and I went to Cherokee National Forest in October 2006 to photograph the spectacular fall foliage. He took me to Fall Branch Falls, an area that I had never seen. It is a short hike, but in some areas it is quite steep and slick. At the lower end of the trail we had to go through this huge broken rock. The next photo will show what Charlie was using as a handhold!
is a lovely 80-foot waterfall at the end of a 1.5 mile hike. The cascades below the falls added to the beauty of the view, but it was difficult to negotiate the slick rocks and trees with my tripod! I still got a bad light "burnout" on the upper part of the falls!
Tellico River rapids
The Bridge above the Bald River Falls requires a moderate hike above the parking lot.
We got lucky and picked a perfect weekend to drive the Cherohala Skyway up to North Carolina! This road goes to Robbinsville, North Carolina. It is very popular with motorcyclists.
I had long wanted to see Bald River Falls with ice, finally in mid-January 2009 we had sustained below-freezing temperatures for long enough to allow that to happen. I took this photo below the bridge. The trees on the right of the photo are covered in rime ice from the freezing spray that blows from the falls.
I saw a group of rock climbers at Cherokee National Forest near Bald River Falls and stopped to get a photo. This young man was "learning the ropes" of rock climbing (pun intended!).
The young men from a church group celebrate a fun day with a jump off Baby Falls! :)
Bald River Falls is one of the easiest waterfalls to see in the state of Tennessee! You don't even have to leave your car, but I don't advise it! This photo was taken 2 days after a heavy rain. I had a hard time getting photos because of the wind blowing the heavy spray.
The Cherokee National Forest uses Trail numbers on the hiking signs. If you decide to hike there, be sure and get a good trail map. #87 is the trail to Fall Branch Falls. The trailhead starts from a parking area on the Cherohala Skyway.
Rocks from the Telliquah wall
. There is a 2-mile hiking trail that follows the lake bank.
Cherohala Skyway fall view.
Kenny and I were amazed to see these kayakers at Baby Falls on the coldest day of the winter (1-16-09)! The high that day was in the mid-20's! I had the wide-angle lens on my camera and had to shoot quickly to get this shot.
A church youth group was learning to rock climb on this cliff at Cherokee National Forest.
A kayaker takes the plunge down Baby Falls. The rivers, lakes, trails, and roads of Cherokee National Forest provide plenty of recreational opportunities to those who want to take advantage of them!
Bald River Falls is located in Cherokee National Forest in eastern Tennessee. map...
This was Charlie's handhold! I was amazed to see how this tree was growing on the side of the broken rock. It really wanted to live!
Telliquah wall sign
as seen from the Cherohala Skyway.
These stumps on the Cow Camp trail are from old American Chestnut trees that died over 70 years ago when a fungus attacked the trees.
Bald River Falls during a drought. Even at a low water level, the falls are beautiful. The moss on the rocks was visible this time. This was a hot July afternoon and the place was crawling with people, I don't know how I managed to get this shot without anyone in it! A few minutes later, the middle ledge had a group of people frolicking on it.
The rock climbers moved on to Baby Falls and took a quick slide into the pool below. These guys were smart and wore life vests, a fellow drowned in a local lake when he jumped from a cliff the same weekend.
Beautiful cascades in the Tellico river on the way to the waterfall.
If you visit the Cherokee National Forest, be sure and drive on one of the backroads. There won't be as much traffic and the views are fabulous!
is one of the most unusual I have ever seen! My friend, Debbie, and I had to step over the guardrail to get to the steps when we hiked here.