Tumbling Waters Nature Trail

Tumbling Waters Nature Trail is part of a network of nature trails at Carters Lake.

Back in mid-December 2024, Jesse and I decided to travel to Elijay, Georgia for a hike at Carters Lake. If you live in Georgia and are on the hiking/nature side of Instagram or TikTok, you might’ve heard of the Tumbling Waters Trail. This is a trail I have been wanting to visit for a while to see whether or not the hype is deserved.

When you search for the trail on Google Maps, you are given coordinates instead of an address. As you get closer to the trail’s location, you might think you are lost because you turn onto a remote residential mountain road. But keep going, you are heading to the right direction! You know you have made it when you get into the Ridgeway Day Use Area.

The Tumbling Waters Trail has gentle up and down slopes with rocky and rooty paths.

Tumbling Waters Nature Trail is part of a network of nature trails at Carters Lake. This trail is marked with red diamonds. There aren’t really any trails that cross over the Tumbling Waters one, so it is not easy to get lost.

The Tumbling Waters Trail has gentle up and down slopes with rocky and rooty paths. It follows alongside an inlet into Carters Lake. This inlet is actually where Tails Creek empties into the lake. About .35 miles down the trail, there is a split. We took the right side first. This part of the trail leads you to an overlook over Tails Creek. At this point in the creek, you see exactly why the trail gets its name – there is literally water tumbling over small rapids and cascades. This is an extremely picturesque spot! Be sure to view our Tumbling Waters Nature Trail photos!

This trail is perfect for beginner hikers, families, or if you just want a short and sweet trail.

After taking a moment to enjoy the first overlook deck, we hiked back up the trail and down the left side of the trail split. This leads you over a long bridge high above Tails Creek. Continue over the bridge and you will follow the trail back through the woods and to a second overlook. This section of the trail also leads you to a spot right on the creek. Here, you will find a pool of crystal-clear water characteristic of GA mountain creeks. I can only imagine how great of a spot this would be in the summertime for swimming and looking for creek critters!

This is a very short hike – about 1.26 miles. We finished it in 58 minutes, and that was with exploring the creek. This trail is perfect for beginner hikers, families, or if you just want a short and sweet trail.

Does the Tumbling Waters Nature Trail live up to its social media portrayals? I would say yes! For the distance we traveled to get there, I would’ve liked to have a longer hike. However, the scenery is constantly beautiful, the creek rapids are plentiful, and honestly, who doesn’t like an easy hike every now and then? We definitely would recommend this hike to all!

Even though Tumbling Waters was an easy hike, we went on a pretty frigid December day. Although there are awesome breweries located closer to Elijay such as Cartecay River Brewing Co, Grumpy Old Brewing, and Talking Rock Brewery, we wanted to go somewhere we have never been before. Jesse and I decided to travel a little bit over to downtown Jasper (around 40 minutes). In Jasper, we visited Pendley Creek Brewing Company.

Tips for your trip to Tumbling Waters Nature Trail

• Watch out when hiking the Tumbling Waters Nature Trail – when we went, there were some extremely slippery mud patches. In fact, we could see where someone had slid down the hill in the mud because of how slippery it is.
• The Tumbling Waters Trail is great for dogs and families.
• Carters Lake is the deepest lake in Georgia.
• Be Bear Aware in the Carters Lake trail areas!

Happy Trails!
Katie & Jesse

Tumbling Waters Nature Trail Information

• The trail is near Elijay and Carters Lake, Georgia. See this Google Map for details.
• There is a parking fee of $5.00 per vehicle per day.
• This is a dog-friendly hiking trail.

Tumbling Waters Nature Trail Photos