There are several scenic features in the Cohutta Wilderness and at the top of them is Panther Creek Falls located on Panther Creek Trail. The falls are at their most spectacular after heavy sustained rains. The pictures you see on this page were after 2 days of heavy sustained winter rains.
Panther Creek Trail is a 3.5-mile east-west running interior trail and may be reached on its eastern (high elevation) terminus via East Cowpen Trail or its western(low elevation) terminus via the Conasauga River Trail. The trail gains 1,830 feet of elevation going east and loses it from the west.
The falls are located approximately midpoint on the trail, around 1.6 to 1.9 miles, depending on which direction you hike in. There are 3 possible routes to the falls and this page will describe them all.
The first route described here is a 13.2 mile out and back day hike which starts at the northern (low elevation) terminus of East Cowpen Trail which is located at the end of FS51. This geographic starting point also houses the Rice Camp Trailhead and the northeastern(low elevation) Hickory Creek Trailhead.
This is the only route in the winter if you want to avoid river and creek crossings. However, the shortest waterless hiking route to Panther Creek Falls is from the East Cowpen southern trailhead located at Three Forks Mountain but is inaccessible from January 1st to March 1st every year due to FS64 being closed at Potatopatch Mountain by the Forest Service.
East Cowpen Trail is Old Hwy 2 which was an east-west highway in this part of Georgia that originally followed a winding route through the Cohutta Mountains between Cisco and Blue Ridge, GA. Due to the ruggedness of the terrain, coupled with landslides on one section of the route, State Road 2 was rerouted to travel concurrently with State Road 52 over Fort Mountain according to Wikipedia.
Up to 1987, it was semi-legal for motor vehicles to drive on the road even though the land was designated a federally protected Wilderness by Congress in 1975. There was a dispute between the State of Georgia and the Federal Government over whether or not recreational off-road vehicles would be allowed according to local sources in Muray County.
East Cowpen Trail is known for its great winter views atop Cohutta Mountain. On a clear sunny winter day, there are magnificent vistas of Big Frog Mountain covered in snow. Only in the Cohutta Wilderness can a day hiker go from a Winter Wonderland in the Mountains down to spectacular rivers and waterfalls in the snowless valleys.
Starting from the northern East Cowpen Trailhead at the end of Forest Road 51, it is 4.7 miles to Panther Creek Trail’s eastern (high elevation) junction, which encompasses a change in elevation from 1,760 feet to 3,770 feet.
The majority of this change in elevation occurs the first 2.7 miles of the hike rated moderate. After passing the Hickory Ridge Trail junction at mile 2.7 the change in elevation (600 feet) for the next 2 miles to Panther Creek Trail is gradual.
After passing Hickory Ridge Trail junction at mile 2.7 the trail continues on a horseshoe-shaped switchback around Buckeye Mountain on its right. The trail continues to climb until it reaches the top of Cohutta Mountain. Once on top of the ridge the trail resembles a roadbed again being flat and wide in the winter. It continues this way to the Panther Creek Trail junction on the right which literally looks like a four-way intersection in the winter with a nice campsite on the left.
The shortest route to the falls is to start at the Three Forks Mountain trailhead and hike the East Cowpen trail to the eastern terminus of the Panther Creek trail which is 2.4 miles. Access to this trailhead is closed January 1st to beginning of March.
Panther Creek Trail from its eastern terminus is relatively flat the first .5 miles before it begins a gradual and increasing decline of approximately 800 feet over the next 1.4 miles until the trail reaches Panther Creek Falls coming in from above.
Near the falls the trail enters a pocket of old-growth forest with large Eastern hemlocks. Shortly afterward, there are several excellent campsites located near this cool big boulder field hiding the falls until you’re on top of them. Paradise in the woods. At least for a short time. The pictures speak for themselves. Enjoy sunset rock!
A popular access point in warm weather is from the West and starts at the western (high elevation) Hickory Creek Trailhead which is accessed by FS630. From this trailhead, it is 5.2 miles to Panther Creek Falls.
Hickory Creek Trail loses elevation gradually the first 1.9 miles on a wide beaten down old roadbed. At this point, the Conasauga River Trail merges (this is the only trail merger in the Wilderness) with Hickory Creek Trail and shares the same treadway for the next 1.3 miles arriving at the four-way intersection of Tearbritches, Hickory Creek, and the Conasauga River Trail at Bray Field.
If you decide to camp at Bray Field and hike to the falls from base camp. It is 2.0 miles to the falls. So 4 mile out and back from Bray Field.
To continue on to Panther Creek Trail and the falls walk south and upstream on the Conasauga River Trail. The trail takes an unexpected short but steep spur uphill and back down to the river. After walking approximately .4 miles from Bray Field you should see the Panther Creek Trail junction sign on the left side of the Conasauga River Trail.
From the junction, it is possible to see where Panther Creek flows into the Conasauga River. It’s a picturesque crossing. Panther Creek Trail crosses the Conasauga River here from west to east to the left side of Panther Creek and continues to follow the creek upstream for 1/2 mile crossing it 5 times.
After the 5th crossing, the trail detours away and to the right of Panther Creek continuing on a fairly wide trail. The trail begins gaining elevation shortly afterwards and eventually converges back on a high narrow slope path toward Panther Creek. It crosses for the last time at mile 1 near the bottom of Panther Creek Falls. This 6th crossing is a steep decline then ascension up the other side of the creek.
To continue to the top of the falls the trail begins its most challenging section ascending steeply for approximately a 1/2 mile on the left side of Panther Creek and the falls detouring slightly left near the top before switchbacking toward the falls. The final 0.4 mile boulder field section of the trail is marked with Blue trail blazes to help navigate.
The top of the falls is called Sunset Bluff for the obvious reason. It also provides a rare unobstructed scenic view of the wilderness.
Panther Creek Trail continues east for approximately 1.9 miles to its junction with East Cowpen Trail on top of Cohutta Mountain.