Falling Creek Falls is a 6-foot plunge waterfall on Falling Creek in Columbia County, Florida, just north of Lake City. A county park with an accessible boardwalk leads to the drop.
The falls
Falling Creek drops over a lip of layered limestone into a ravine strewn with limestone boulders, its tannin-stained water the color of root beer. Measurements range from 6 to 12 feet, with historical surveys recording 10 feet. The creek is intermittent, fed by rain and high groundwater, and it passes under Falling Creek Road before disappearing underground about a quarter mile downstream.
Getting there
From Lake City, head north on US 41, under I-10, then turn right onto NW Falling Creek Road for 1 mile to the parking area. A 0.6-mile loop includes a spur to an observation platform over the falls about a quarter mile along the accessible boardwalk. The park is open daily from 8 a.m. to 7 p.m., closing at 5:30 p.m. in winter.
When to go
Flow depends on rain and groundwater. A county marker indicates that the creek is often dry and that water levels change quickly.
On site
The boardwalk runs through a bluff forest of bald cypress, sweetgum and magnolia, and a footpath continues upstream past small islands and rocky rapids. The trailhead has restrooms, covered picnic pavilions and a playground. Dogs are not permitted.
History and name
Settlement along the creek began in the early 1850s, and after the Civil War Rivers and Reed ran a sawmill on it; a relocated store building from that era stands near the kiosk. The park opened in October 2001 as a joint project of the water management district and Columbia County, on land bought from the Parker and Hogan families.
Nearby
The nearest other listed waterfall is Steinhatchee Falls, about 53.8 miles away. Five Points is about 4 miles from the falls.
Distances are straight-line.