Gee Creek Falls Directions

Friday  July 24, 2025

 by Dana Koogler 

Gee Creek Photo Gallery Here

Gee Creek Falls Waypoint on the NEW Tennessee Landforms database 

  Recent questions from fellow hikers made me decide it was time to post some directions on hiking in Gee Creek Wilderness.   I am no expert, but I have lost count of how many times I've been.   I have hiked up the gorge as far as the upper falls.    

 I recall how confusing it was to find the trailhead on the first trip.  It is in Gee Creek Wilderness. Emphasis on the wilderness.   Wilderness trails are maintained to a much lower standard than park trails.  They are more rugged, not well marked, and can be hard to follow.  A couple of hiking guides indicate wrongly that the trail terminates above the main falls.   

   Driving Directions : 

You will need to find Gee Creek Road to drive to the trailhead for the hike. It lies 3.8 miles south of the town of Etowah in the community of Wetmore on Hwy 411. Gee Creek Road is on the LEFT heading south.  It is 1 mile north of the Hwy 411 bridge over the Hiwassee River on the RIGHT.  It is easy to miss because the road sign is tricky to spot.   It is a residential area , and doesn't look like you're heading to a hiking area.  

  Once on Gee Creek Road follow it through an area of homes for 2.40 miles to its dead end at the trailhead.    Be aware the road does cross the train tracks which is a live line.  Yesterday for the first time I was stopped by the excursion train and had to wait.   Another thing to be aware of on the drive :  Current road conditions are rutted and rough.  There is a deep mud hole that is the entire width of the gravel road.   It has a hard bottom and did not present a problem for my jeep or the passenger cars I saw at the trail.  

     Old Tennessee Landforms Page with more Info HERE 

Hiking Directions: 

Begin your hike at the dead end of the road.  There are two trailheads at this spot.  One will be to the left and heads up the mountain. It is gated.  This is Starr Mountain Trail.  Not what you want. The trail for Gee Creek Falls lies dead ahead past a boulder.    

Walk past the boulder on a rocky, wide path. It is almost level with lots of rocks and roots and a barely perceptible uphill grade.  You will hike about 1/2 mile on this while Gee Creek is on your right.    You will come to a wooden bridge across Gee Creek. Cross this and continue with Gee Creek now beside you on the left.   It is rockier, steeper and merits caution.  My grandson fell here and got a black eye when he was nine.    It is about another 0.40 miles once you cross the bridge to the main falls of Gee Creek.   

Below is a photo of the main falls that is where the waypoint indicates.  

Many people end the hike here.  The stream is a series of lovely pools and cascades beyond the bridge.   Other points of interest include the ruins of an old quartz mining operation which can be seen on both the right and left of the creek before the main falls.  

   A couple more vital things to point out:

• Once you arrive at the main falls seen in the photo above, the trail continues across the creek. This will be your first creek ford.   It is rocky and slick so use care.  There is now a treacherous, user created scramble trail on the right that goes up and dead ends.  I saw a couple get confused and make that climb only to have to turn around. 
• The trail crosses the creek, goes uphill until it levels off above the falls.  Just beyond this is the second unbridged creek crossing.  It is a deeper, trickier wade.  Beyond the main falls I cannot give you distances or real specific directions.  Just know that it gets worse in places the further up the gorge you go.   I can tell you the upper falls is NOT on Gee Creek, but drops into it off a side stream from the right.  It is perpendicular to the creek.   It is a little over 1/2 mile above main falls of Gee Creek. 

  

Below is a video of the upper falls. It is 50 feet high and at the time I visited it was beautiful.  It probably isn't worth the effort during drier times of the year. I was there in early Spring when water levels were high.  I apologize for the video quality. I shot it before I had my current Go Pro and it is fuzzy.  Perhaps I'll return and get a better video one day.