- Water Source
-
- Location
- Georgia, Walker County, in the Chattahoochee Forestwest
of I-75
Take the road marked Keown Falls south from
Villanow for 5 miles. There is a sign to the falls and a
picnic ground.
- Size
-
- Trail *(See message below)
- The road to the falls trail and picnic ground was closed,
so we walked from the main road for about 1/2 mile to the
picnic ground. The trail to the falls and overlook was
marked from the picnic ground and was lined with rock.
There was a fork in the trail marked loop one direction
and overlook the other direction. We took the fork marked
overlook.
It was not too difficult walking, although
the trail was quite rocky and steep in a few places.
We stopped when we could no longer see the trail. The
trail followed a creek upstream that was filled with
small falls.
- Other Information
- There was a sign at the picnic ground that said the water
was flowing. The creek we followed was flowing lightly.
The falls would have been much more interesting had the
water been flowing more strongly down the side of John's
Mountain.
I think we found Keown Falls, but I'm not
absolutely sure we did.
If anyone knows whether or not we found the falls,
please let me know. I had no information about the size
of the falls so I'm not sure what we were looking for.
- * I received the message below about the trail to the
falls. Apparently I didn't find the falls :-)
-
- In response to your
information and query about Keown Falls, it almost sounds
as though you did not find the falls. There are two
ways to access the falls. The first, and more
popular, is the one you described. From the parking
lot one can travel along a mostly graveled trail which
winds its way uphill toward the base of the falls.
Along the way -- about a third of the distance to the
falls -- one needs to ford the often narrow and nearly
always shallow creek. After a fairly easy 0.9 mile
walk you will come to a series of about 50 rock steps
followed by a short segment of trail. At the end of
this trail you will find yourself at the base of the
falls and discover that it is possible to walk behind the
falls without getting wet. Backing up several
yards, a set of wooden steps will be found which lead to
an overlook, not only of the falls, but also of some of
the valley below. (It's really rather pretty in the
fall). Going on up a few more steps you will find
the slender spring fed stream which provides the water to
the falls from a very small and shallow
watershed. The first time I visited the falls
had there not been a modest barrier I could have quite
possibly stepped over the stream.
-
- The other way to access the
falls would be to follow your initial directions but turn
a mile or so earlier -- or later depending on the
direction being traveled -- and take the turnoff marked
Jones Mountain Overlook. This is a two mile
graveled road which dead ends in a parking lot which
provides a wide overlook of the valley below. When
looking out over the valley, turn your back to the view
and you'll be facing the trail head which leads to the
falls. Whereas the earlier described trail is
mostly up hill to the falls, this one is nearly all down
hill to the falls. It is my understanding that the
trail is periodically bushhogged so it may or may not be
easy to follow. The distance to the falls is nearly
identical. The trail ends at the wooden overlook
described above.
-
- My most recent visit to the
falls was just after the remnants of one of the season's
hurricanes had passed through and left a good quantity of
rain. At that time the falls were about 15 feet
across, whereas on my initial visit they were only about
a foot or so. There is a lot of foliage in the way
so taking photos is a challenge. I think the best
shots are from the wooden overlook. I would guess
the drop to be in the range of 35 feet.
-
- If one is ambitious, it is
possible to hike the loop from one parking area to the
falls, to the other parking area, and back to your
vehicle. One small advantage of taking the road to
Jones Mountain is there is no fee area at the top whereas
the one you described now requests a $2.00 per vehicle
donation. Bill
