Bull Cove Falls

Clay County, North Carolina

Your visit at a glance

Waterfall height: Not recorded
Location: Clay County, North Carolina
Access status: Wilderness trail with a creek crossing from a forest road trailhead
The walk: About 2 miles return (Waterfall Hero hike length: 0.9 mile trail plus 0.1 mile path each way)
Ground & access: Steep eroded wilderness trail with a creek crossing that may require wading, then an old road and a short path. No signs or blazes in the wilderness.

Waterfall Hero: Bull Cove Falls (Nantahala)

Bull Cove Falls, NC
Photo credit
Photo: Wncoutdoors, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Bull Cove Falls is a two-part cascade of about 40 feet in the Southern Nantahala Wilderness, reached by driving up the Tallulah River from Georgia. From the lower Beech Creek Trail (#378) trailhead on Forest Road 56, the trail climbs steeply over a ridge and drops to a crossing of Beech Creek, then follows an old mining road upstream. At 0.9 mile it crosses Bull Cove Creek; turn right and follow an obvious path upstream about 0.1 mile to the falls. The crossing of Beech Creek can be tricky in high water.

Plan your visit

Beech Creek Trail from Forest Road 56 to Bull Cove Falls

Waterfall Hero lists 2.0 miles round trip: 0.9 mile on Beech Creek Trail to the Bull Cove Creek crossing, then about 0.1 mile up a path to the falls. Wikipedia calls it a strenuous 1 mile one way. Continuing to High Falls makes a 5 mile outing.

Steep eroded wilderness trail with a creek crossing that may require wading, then an old road and a short path. No signs or blazes in the wilderness.

Where to start

Waterfall Hero: from Clayton, Georgia take US 76 west 7.5 miles, right on Persimmon Road 4.2 miles, left on Tallulah River Road, which becomes Tate City Road and then Forest Road 56 in North Carolina; less than a mile past the state line pull off on the left by a primitive campsite. Trailhead GPS 34.99875, -83.55669.

Timing & water

High water makes the Beech Creek crossing difficult. The gravel river road is open year round but narrow.

Before you go

Southern Nantahala Wilderness, Nantahala National Forest. No fee or reservation is reported. Wilderness rules apply.

Visitor information

Visit sources

More waterfalls nearby

Within 40 straight-line miles. Road and trail distances will differ.

Explore North Carolina

Waterfall location

Clay County, North Carolina.

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