Bad Creek Falls is a beautiful, stairstepping 50-foot waterfall located in a very steep, remote gorge along Bad Creek. It lies a quarter-mile from where this steep stream dumps into Tugaloo Lake. The waterfall can be accessed via either a challenging, steep bushwhack from Stoneplace Road (FR 516) or a somewhat easier off-trail creekwalk up from the lake. The lake approach requires a kayak, and the nearest put-in lies on the South Carolina side of the lake at Bull Sluice Road. As you hike in from the lake, you will pass a couple of beautiful, long sliding cascades that could count as their own smaller waterfalls.

In 2024, Hurricane Helene caused a landslide depositing a pile of large downed trees at the base of Bad Creek Falls, slightly marring its beauty for some time. 

For detailed directions, see page 320 in Mark Ozboyd's "Waterfalls of Georgia" guidebook.