High Falls – Talladega National Forest, Alabama

Length: 1 mile /Difficulty: Moderate /Trail: Lower Odum

One waterfall I became hopeful to see before leaving on our trip to Alabama was High Falls. I figured with it begin featured in the Alabama travel guide it would be easier to access, but it’s a bit of a moderate climb, and with a hurt foot that climb becomes a lot more difficult. Anyways, Brandon instead got the photos for me to make sure I left with nothing, and he even ended up with some small wounds on the slick rocks. We can at least say since our visit to the Talladega National Forest we’ve become a bit more prepared for anything.

After our visit to Cheaha State Park we had plans to visit High Falls and Devil’s Den Falls. Sadly, my evening wouldn’t end up quite as expected, but the great weather and the wonderful views made up for it. Talladega National Forest is a beautiful spot to drive through though, and if nothing else it is worth the drive on the scenic highway. The highway provides great overlooks like this of the surrounding mountains.

We found the trailhead sign for High Falls, and we pulled into the parking. Two cars were there, so it wasn’t too crowded, but to be honest some of the others hanging out there made me a tad uncomfortable. I would love to come back here, but next time I would make it a priority earlier in the day. We did arrive near dark.

I only made it a short way up the trail before my ankle gave out. I had reinjured my ankle the same day at Devil’s Den Falls from hurting it prior in the weekend at Cheaha Falls on the trail. By this point my ankle was in terrible condition.  The hike begins on the Lower Odum Trail from the High Falls parking area. Before we decided it wouldn’t be a good idea for me to walk anymore I got to see some spectacular views of the cutout of the surrounding area on the trail. The sky was the brightest blue this day.

The bottom waterfall was the only piece of the 3 part cascade I would see. At this point I decided my ankle wouldn’t bode well walking over the rocks. Uneven distribution made it that much more painful to walk, and it was already painful to walk on level ground. Brandon decided to go ahead up to the top 2 waterfalls while I got back to the car. I felt defeated, but do I think I could walk it now? I think so. My ankle took a few months to heal while I had to wear a brace I bought from a store to continue to hike. I’ve now built up my ankle and knee’s stamina to last a lot better on hikes, which I didn’t have before.

Brandon got another photo closer of the lowest cascade before he continued to walk up the waterfalls. Supposedly this waterfall is the smallest of the three you see on the trail.

Brandon noted once you got past the bottom part of the falls and up the first climb on the trail, it gets easier to walk along. Metal stairs continue the trail past the upper falls. Because it was dark out the light on the camera had to be up much higher making it more difficult at the time to capture a slow shot of the waterfalls as well. The second waterfall above is around 10 – 15 ft in height.

As you’re walking up the stairs a great side profile of the waterfalls are given. Brandon got some great shots that made it a little bit more easy to deal with I had to sit out.

The top fall you reach completes the beautiful cascade of the three waterfalls. This waterfall was also around 10 – 15ft in height. There was a great flow of water too after some recent March rains too. After this you turned around and head back out.  The trail is around 1 mile roundtrip. It’s 0.5 miles to walk past all three waterfalls. The trail is steep, but once you get to a certain level stairs begin to aid the walk. Maybe one day I’ll have the chance to see all 3 in person. The area is free to visit.

Devil’s Den Falls – Talladega National Forest, Alabama

In March I met my match with a couple of waterfalls. Devil’s Den is a small waterfall in the Talladega National Forest in Alabama. It’s located on the same trail as Cheaha Falls, the Chinnabee Silent Trail. The trail was constructed in 1977 by the Boy Scout Troop 29 from the Alabama Institute for the Deaf and Blind in Talladega. The trail can either be accessed by continuing your walk from Cheaha Falls or beginning at the trailhead at Lake Chinnabee. 

The water that flows from the creek and waterfalls let out into this lake, which is a recreation spot for fishing and camping. The hike begins good, but the trail does begin to get difficult. There are steep inclines, many rocky paths, and after crossing a bridge you have to walk a bit downhill to see the waterfall.

I think I could have made it had my ankle not gave out on me, but I ended up injuring my ankle. I could barely limp on it. Since this incident I’ve started wearing an ankle and knee brace. Brandon was able to make it to the waterfall and did mention the path gets a bit rough. Now I don’t know if it would have been easier had we taken the long way from Cheaha Falls instead of cutting through the other side for a shortcut. It’s more difficult going down elevation for me than up. The photos you see at the bottom of the waterfall are Brandon’s though who was working on some slick rocks.

From where I was standing I could see a bit of the waterfalls. By climbing down you can’t have a full look of their drop, but from in between branches you can see the dropping water from far off.

What we did learn is the maintaining of national forests vary differently from state to state and even area. Cheaha Falls trail was a bit confusing in length, but there were constant updates you were following the path to a waterfall. Devil’s Den Falls did not have a clear marking for it’s location outside of one, so it was difficult to make sense of when you would find it.

The trail from Lake Chinnabee is closed in the winter. It opens March 1st for the season. You can still access Devil’s Den in the winter by hiking from the trailhead beginning toward Cheaha Falls. The trail is 6 miles if you walk the whole thing one way. The trail to just Devil’s Den when Lake Chinnabee is open is supposedly around 3/4 a mile. The waterfall was free to access.

Cheaha Falls – Talladega National Forest, Alabama

Length: 2 miles / Difficulty Moderate 

Cheaha Falls (pronouced che-a-ha) is a beautiful waterfall in the Talledega National Forest of Alabama. We visited after steady rain had occurred so the flow of the water was heavy. Of the three waterfalls we visited in the Talledega National Forest, this was the easiest one to access.

Cheaha Falls can be found on the Chinnabee Silent Trail, along with another waterfall I’ll be writing about later, Devils Den. The Chinnabee Silent Trail was constructed in 1977 by Boy Scout Troop 29. The troop was associated with the Alabama Institute for the Deaf and Blind in Talledega. 

There are two places you can park to begin the Chinnabee Silent Trail. There is a parking space on the side of the road, and there is the Turnipseed Campground, which is where we parked.  The photo above shows the trailhead sign at the campground. This was the only sign I saw for Devils Den waterfall on the trail, and it was 3.5 miles from this spot.

Walking a short way we found another sign pointing across the road. This was where the trail from the parking lot begins. Devils Den disappears from the noted sights you can walk to, even though you’re still walking in the direction of it. This is the only sign that mentions the direction of Cheaha Falls as well. The other signs only note the Cheaha Falls shelter.

The trail to Cheaha Falls is a little rough around the edges. It has many rocks, but there is nothing too difficult an obstacle. Parts where Cheaha Creek flows through the path are easy to cross. There are many beautiful, scenic spots as well. I did hurt my ankle though. It isn’t difficult to walk, but the uneven terrain ended up somehow injuring my ankle.

We walked across one more road before reaching this sign. This was the last stretch of the hike before seeing the waterfall.

We reached the falls, and it was well worth the hike. The trail leads to the top of the waterfall, and you can see it flowing into the creek below.

 I made a rare adventurous move, and sought a trail to the bottoms of the waterfall. The trail becomes rough toward the bottom though, and the rain had made it slick. On top of being slick it was also steep. I had to crawl down several spots. My husband also walked to the bottom of the waterfalls, and lost his footing a couple of times.

We too a photo from the bottom of the waterfall as well. I left the shutter speed low, so it blurred any movement.

If you don’t want to risk going to the bottom of the waterfalls there are  great overlooks of the waterfall from the top as well.

On the way back I had injured my ankle somehow. My husband broke off a branch for me to try to use to put pressure on, and keep it off my foot. The trail provides beautiful sights, but it has rough spots, and becomes rougher as you reach Lake Chinnabee. I would say it’s fairly easy to walk to Cheaha Falls.

The trail is free to access to hike. There is a camping charge though. The site notes that the open season for the trail begins March 1st, but I believe you can hike to Cheaha Falls, and the other waterfall from the parking area year around.