Bull Cove Falls

Bull Cove Falls is a 45-foot cascade waterfall on Bull Cove Creek in the Southern Nantahala Wilderness of Clay County, North Carolina, a short walk off the Beech Creek Trail. It sits in a small cove under a high rock wall, and the same trail continues to High Falls on Beech Creek.

The falls

The creek slides down tilted bedrock in two steps, the taller about 25 feet, with some free-falling sections; a lidar survey puts the total at about 45 feet. Below the falls Bull Cove Creek runs into Beech Creek, a tributary of the Tallulah River.

Getting there

The falls are in North Carolina but reached through Georgia. The drive from Clayton follows US 76 west for 7.8 miles, right on Persimmon Road for 4.1 miles, then left on Tallulah River Road for about 7.5 miles to the Beech Creek trailhead (#378). The narrow gravel road follows the Tallulah River as FS70 in Georgia and becomes FS56 in North Carolina.

From the trailhead the Beech Creek Trail climbs on steep switchbacks, then levels and reaches a crossing of Beech Creek after about half a mile. An old roadbed continues another half mile to Bull Cove Creek, where a side trail leads a short way up to the falls. The trip is 2 miles round trip with some obstacles and is rated moderate to strenuous. The land is part of the Nantahala National Forest.

When to go

The Beech Creek crossings are the limiting factor: they may be possible to rock-hop, need wading in higher water and become impassable in a flood. Plan the hike for a dry spell rather than just after heavy rain.

On site

The last stretch of side trail crosses rocks and fallen logs and is tricky in a couple of places, and large logs can clutter the base. The route passes through a forest of dead and dying hemlocks. The setting is a small amphitheater with a high rock wall on the left side of the falls.

Nearby

High Falls on Beech Creek lies farther up the same trail, about another mile up the trail, with 1,200 to 1,300 feet of climbing. On the map, High Falls is about 1.2 miles away, and Denton Creek Falls and Lower Denton Creek Falls, across the state line in Georgia, are about 1.1 and 1.3 miles.

Distances are straight-line.