Upper Old DeSoto Falls
Chestatee Wildlife Management Area
Lumpkin County
Dahlonega, GA
GPS Location:
34.72342, -83.92035
Waterfall Height:
100 feet
A significant 100-foot waterfall, Upper Old DeSoto Falls lies on a tributary of Frogtown Creek flowing down from Daniel Camp Gap, to the north of what is known today as Upper DeSoto Falls. In the 1990s, Old DeSoto Falls was the "original" Upper DeSoto Falls, whereas today's upper falls had been known as Middle DeSoto Falls. The trail to the original upper falls was decommissioned after damage from Hurricane Opal in 1995, leaving the falls in obscurity. Middle DeSoto Falls got renamed to the "new" Upper DeSoto Falls, while the original waterfall became known as the "old" falls.
Upper Old DeSoto Falls lies upstream from the taller Lower Old DeSoto Falls, found on the same stream. Reaching it today requires an off-trail bushwhack of moderate difficulty from the old trail. Both falls are marked on the original USGS topographic map for the area.
For detailed directions, see page 144 in Mark Ozboyd's "Waterfalls of Georgia" guidebook.

Photo credit: Mark Oleg Ozboyd
