Grotto Falls is an 8-foot waterfall on Short Creek in Marshall County, Alabama, in the Southwestern Appalachians region. It lies about 4 miles north of Albertville and roughly 35.8 miles southeast of Huntsville as the crow flies.
At 8 feet it is one of the lowest falls in the state’s records: of the 29 Alabama waterfalls with a documented height only 0 are shorter, while the typical Alabama waterfall stands around 40 feet.
The Southwestern Appalachians are the Cumberland Plateau and its escarpments, a sandstone tableland covered in oak and mixed mesophytic forest and cut by deep gorges. Creeks pour off the plateau rim over sandstone caprock into gorges, creating many tall, dramatic falls. Short Creek carries 2 recorded waterfalls; the biggest of them reaches 18 feet.
Marshall County holds 7 recorded waterfalls, and several are close by. Short Creek Falls, 18 feet high, is under a mile away. High Falls, 50 feet high, is about 8.9 miles away. Piney Branch Falls, is about 11.4 miles away.
Grotto Falls is located at 34.3246° N, 86.1951° W. The listing is based on the World Waterfall Database, one of the sources compiled by the U.S. Geological Survey in its inventory of waterfalls and rapids of the conterminous United States. The creek name is confirmed against the federal Geographic Names Information System. The exact position has not yet been verified on aerial imagery, so treat the map pin as approximate. Details on trails, parking and access have not been documented for this waterfall yet.