Filmy Fern Falls is one of the best hidden gem waterfalls near Toccoa. This unique 30-foot waterfall lies on a large unnamed creek flowing into Pumping Station Lake, a manmade reservoir along Davidson Creek supplying drinking water to the city of Toccoa. Filmy Fern Falls features a striking shape, splitting into multiple energetic branches on two sides of a semicircular overhanging cliff. Lush moss coats every square inch of the surrounding rock formations. Photographers could spend hours capturing all the different intricate channels of water here.

I first heard about Filmy Fern Falls from my good friend Alan Cressler. Alan — a geologist, botanist, and photographer — found this waterfall on July 2, 1983, while looking for rare plants. Back then, this was a remote, unknown location. Online blogs about waterfalls did not exist, and even the road near the falls had yet to be constructed. Alan christened the waterfall for a family of ferns known as “filmy ferns," distinguished by their unique appearance that resembles moss algae or coniferous needles more closely than a typical fern.

Today, Filmy Fern Falls can be reached with a much easier and quicker hike. It lies at the end of a 1-mile walk down a gravel road from the gate on Pumping Station Road. A steep, muddy scramble path descends from the road to the base of the falls. 

For detailed directions, see page 251 in Mark Ozboyd's "Waterfalls of Georgia" guidebook.